Bound to Stay
by Kalissa
Summary: He was thrown out of his world. He was sent to Hell without any means of finding his way back. But accidents heppen, and now he's stuck back in the Ranmaverse week after his leave for them and much longer for him. How will Ranma react to getting his old l
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ and don't hope to. Also I don't claim ownership of any other anime/book/film/manga that are mentioned or used in this story. However, there are Original Characters created by me. I will point them out and claim them as they appear in the story.

Author's Note: This is my first work so I'll be waiting for reviews before uploading the next chapter. No point to write if you don't want to read right…?

I'll appreciate constructive criticism and any suggestions on how to improve my writing style. If you've got any comments please review.

**IMPORTANT! I'm RE-POSTING this story. There've been some CHANGES so please RE-READ it EVEN IF YOU REMEMBER what it was about! **

Timeline: Post Saffron and Failed Wedding. It's been close to two years since Ranma's arrival to the Tendo Dojo.

Have fun reading!

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 1

It was an unusual day in Nerima. That is unusual for this specific district of Tokyo; to the rest of the world it would have seemed rather normal. However, anybody who lived in Nerima long enough new that this calm and quiet can be only before the storm. What made things worse was the fact that it have been this calm for quite some time now, a week to be exact. There wasn't almost any fights, the famous NWC haven't demolished any buildings while fighting new challengers or among themselves as had become a custom now, no demons trying to destroy the world, no kidnappings of any sort, nothing. And of course everybody has noticed the absence of the pig-tailed teen flying across Nerima via Akane airlines.

#Furinkan High School#

The bell for lunch just rang and school courtyard started to fill with teenagers. Among the different groups, three girls can be seen sitting under a tree engaged in a conversation.

"So, has he come back yet?" Asked one of the girls.

"No. That baka. I just can't believe he left like that! I just know he's being perverted with one of his hussies!" Angrily replied a blue haired girl, her once cute face gone replaced with a scowl.

"Indeed, to take off like that! Not even saying good-bye. Awful!" Replied the third.

"You know Akane," continued first "I don't understand why he needed that training trip at all."

"What are you talking about Sayuri? It's Ranma for god's sake, Martial Arts is all he cares about!" Exclaimed third.

"I can't disagree with you there Yuka. Fighting is the only thing that Ranma is good at." Sayuri hurried to agree with her friend. "But aren't you even a slightest bit worried about your fiancé Akane?"

"Why should I worry? He can die for all I care!"

At that moment the explosion above the school startled the students.

x x x

A portal in the sky closed with a sickening /bang/ leaving a slightly disorientated demon in its wake. A being of this kind you expect to see in a video game maybe on TV but definitely not standing in the middle of a school courtyard. The demon was tall, more then two meters so, with enormous muscles and body covered in red skin. A horned head with its huge mouth full of deadly looking fangs, terrible scars all over his body and a pair of dirty-brown pants with a crude belt decorated with spikes completed the image of every person's nightmare. Overall _it _presented a sight not meant for the easily disturbed. Even students of Furinkan were scared shitless and that's saying a lot by itself.

The demon regained his senses and looked around. Seeing horrified teens, he roared and swiped his massive claws instantly killing those unfortunate enough to be standing within his reach making all the others freeze in horror. Then he stopped his attack as suddenly as he started it. He turned his head in all directions as if trying to sense something only to see a lightning bolt heading his way. Jumping back, he barely avoided the attack with the bolt missing him by mere centimeters. He then tried to back away and out of the school only to dodge another attempt to fry him.

"Oh no, you don't shithead." Said a cold male voice, its owner was seen moments later landing on the school's roof "You've had your fun making me chase you around now I'll have mine ripping your head off."

A furious growl was the only reply he got. The mysterious man just chuckled and flexed his hand causing another lightning bolt to appear in it.

"Show Time!"

With those words he sent a new formed lightning towards the demon below. The creature was moving faster than anybody expected and managed to dodge to the left where it was met by another bolt followed closely by the next one. They continued with this deadly dance for a good ten minutes, when it became obvious that they can keep it up and not reach any results the man hoped down from the roof saying in that cold voice of his void of any emotions

"Let's finish this I have more important things to do then spend my whole day playing around with you."

This time though he received a reply, which came as a great shock for the onlookers.

"If my spirit will be doomed to stay in this god forsaken hole of a world for three decades, then gods are my witnesses I'll make sure you'll stay to keep me company!"

That said the real fight began. Demon was using his claws while the man created two vacuum blades and was using them as his swords. Claws met blades, power was answered with power, raw strength with raw strength. Amazing acrobatic fits were done as if they were the easiest of things. Killer blows were dismissed as a mere itch.

As the fight went on, students were gathering around to see the amazing site. In two years that Saotome Ranma spent in Nerima student body saw a great deal of fights but never have they seen anything that could be compared to this one.

Tendo Nabiki was quick to come out of her shock and was already gathering bets on the fight as well as on the matter of who the mysterious man might be. When he and that demon talked, he stayed in the shadows and now they were but blurs even to her trained eye so there was a lot of space for speculations. Which suited her just fine, the more guesses fail the more money she'll have out of the whole ordeal. Ideas on his personality varied greatly. Some said him to be some kind of prince, others claimed him to be a demon himself, a couple of idiots even suggested that it was Ranma, saving the day as he always does. Nabiki had a good laugh at that idea, she knew Ranma was powerful, but even he couldn't throw lightning around the place like this man had done before, besides his fighting style was nothing like Ranma's. The pig-tailed martial artist always dodged his opponents' strikes, never met them head on, and that's exactly what was going on now.

Nabiki's thoughts were interrupted by the terrible screech of pain. She looked up just at the time to see as the fighter managed to get into demons defenses and drive one of his blades right through the creature's heart. Everyone in the crowd became silent as shock from witnessing a kill settled in. In the eerie silence the demon's last words were like a thunder.

"_Shastem autori quotell _by the power of Rakshase you will stay in this world as long as my soul does _Etaeru cuot _with the power of gods I bind you Dragon."

With the last word said his body went limp as death claimed him. In the same silence they watched as the man came up to the body holding a dragger. With words "The contract has been fulfilled." with one mighty swipe, he drove the dragger into the body, which then dissolved into thin air, leaving only the ornamented peace of weaponry behind.

The last action earned a startled gasp from the audience, which in turn caused the man to look up and finally reveal his face…

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	2. Chapter 2

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 2

Their eyes met and it was at that moment that Nabiki knew that it really was him. Saotome Ranma was back and hell, did he choose an effective entrance. The whispering began among the crowd but neither paid it any attention. For each of them the presence of the other signified something and both had disbelieving looks on their faces though for no more than a second before scolding their expressions back to an emotionless masks.

Then all the hell broke loose. Fiancées finally came to and realized who exactly was standing in front of them and hurried to voice their opinion on the matter of the fight and his sudden departure on his so called 'training trip'.

"Ranma no baka where in hell have you been and what is the meaning of all this?" bellowed Akane, in an uncontrollable rage.

With her battle aura shining like a small sun and her hand itching for her mallet, she was quite a sight so it was no wonder that the student body parted in front of her like the Red Sea once did for Moses.

"Ran-Chan what happened to you? Are you all right? You're not hurt are you?" Worriedly asked Ukyo.

She had been cooking her okonomyaki in the shade of the trees when the fight started and now was hurriedly pushing through the crowd to get to him.

"Ayah, Airen back from training trip! Shampoo like Airen new look! Airen take Shampoo on date, yes?" Said Chinese Amazon enthusiastically gloomping onto Ranma.

Shampoo has been near the school, heading to the lunch area for any possible news about Ranma, when she had heard sounds of fighting and when she saw what was going on, she had decided to watch from the safety of the top of a fence.

All this time Nabiki was silently watching the scene. She was stunned. For the first time in her life, Ice Queen was speechless. Cool and collected on the outside she was awed, surprised, and even more so scared on the inside. The reason for this was standing no more then three meters away from her. If it wasn't for his eyes so different and yet the same she would have never believed that the man in front of her was indeed Saotome Ranma, pigtailed eighteen year old and hair of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

Indeed, everything about him had changed. The first noticeable change was his clothing. Instead of the ever-present Chinese shirt, kung-fu pants and slippers, he was clad in a pair of rather tight leather pants that rested on his hips, a skin-tight muscle shirt that showed of every inch of his upper body and army boots that were partialy covered by his pants. To top it off he wore a leather coat that gave him a somewhat mysterious look. The color scheme has changed too, now he wore all black which successfully contributed to his look of a sexy badass. His famous hairstyle was altered as well where once was a cute pigtail now was a low masculine ponytail loosely held together with a piece of a leather string. His body matured. He was nearly six foot tall with broad shoulders and a _very _good build. His face was cute before but now with the baby fat gone it became downright beautiful. In other words in front of her was standing every girl's wet dream and the hungry stares of the female population of the Furinkan High proved this. All this surprised her and when she allowed herself to really _look _and not just asses Ranma's new appearance the change had left her awed. However, what scared her were his eyes. When they looked at each other for those few moments, she had her breath taken away from her by the coldness of those blue orbs. His eyes like his voice before were colder then an artic desert itself and like his voice they were completely void of any emotion. It was scary because the same breathtaking silver streaked blue-gray eyes were full of innocence only a week ago. This new Ranma's posture and graceful almost cat like movements told the world of his confidence developed from inner power and experience, traces of which were newer there before. He had confidence before but it related only to fighting and was more a brash arrogance than anything else. Right now Nabiki could swear she saw a confidence of the one who lead a long and complicated life, this you often see in older people but never has she seen it in one so young.

All this information Nabiki gathered in less then a minute and she was already finished and back to watching what would soon turn in a disaster in her competent opinion when she saw all the girls finally reach Ranma.

At the present, he was being squashed between an overly exited Shampoo and equally as exited Ukyo. Both girls were rattling non-stop about some nonsense and trying to get his attention by pressing their generous curves into him, while at the same time shooting each other killer looks. Akane was standing a few feet away and going on and on with her famous 'Ranma you baka pervert' speech in full battle aura mode while readying to pound Ranma face first into the ground with that giant mallet of hers.

That's when Ranma finally spoke 

"Get. Off. Of. Me."

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	3. Chapter 3

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech

"_Yada, yada, yada"_ – indicates the use of Maranian Language (one of the ancient demon languages which is usually used in most spells and rituals)

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 3 

Ranma cursed, he has been chasing this Reaper for more then two hours now and every time he got close enough, the fucker opened a new portal and teleported to another dimention. This routine started to annoy him and an annoyed Ranma was never a good thing for ones health. He knew that Reapers were the elite in Hell, but this individual demon was truly something else, his skills with interdimensional travel were truly amazing. This time though Ranma managed to follow his prey through his own (demon's) portal.

The inevitable in this circumstances overload (the portal was made specifically for the Reaper only) caused the portal to explode that in turn gave a slight disorientation to the travelers. Ranma was quick to regain his senses and mask his presence to avoid being detected by the demon and thus leaving said demon without the opportunity to open another portal in time to escape. The explosion left him on top of some fence hidden by the trees he had time to study his current location without the possibility of him being discovered. The survey of his surroundings told Ranma that he was in some kind of school. The place had a three-story building and a big courtyard in the middle of which was standing the dazed Reaper.

Something caught Ranma's attention at the edge of his senses. After concentrating on the feeling Ranma stiffened, the Dragonlines of this world felt familiar to him but he just couldn't remember or understand why. Not finding the answer, he shrugged it off as unimportant and instead he proceeded to concentrate on the current target of his latest mission.

_/'Current target of the mission'/_ the phrase repeated itself in his head /_Who would've thought that I will so offhandedly say those words? When have I became so coldhearted and uncaring towards the fulfilling of my contacts and eliminating my 'targets'/_ a stray thought entered his mind _/When you finally understood that it is the only way to survive in the universe. /_was the answer to his question that came from the rational part of him.

A coldhearted killer, a Bounty Hunter, the best of the Hell Hounds those were his names now. Very few still remembered his real name and used it most knew him as the Dragon a merciless warrior without equals. _/My childish dream had finally come true but at what price/_ he thought to himself. Even after countless millennia that he had lived through, in all the dimensions that he had been to, he had never allowed himself to forget WHERE he came from and WHO he was in his human life.

Yes, human… it has been so long since he ceased to be one. _/And all of this only because Happosai decided that he can play Kami and make me a ronin without a soulbond to my own homeworld. /_ As a consequence now Ranma had no means to find his homeworld except for searching through all of the existing dimensions for the right one an idea which he abandoned soon after learning their number. Therefore, he decided to adapt to his new life like he always had done before and here he is now preparing to kill a Reaper right in the middle of the school full of students that were staring at the demon which had finally regained his senses and started a killing spree among the teens.

Not giving the demon a chance to slaughter more people, Ranma flexed his right hand preparing to use one of his favorite elemental attacks. During his travels he acquired quite a lot of rather /unusual/ skills that were very difficult to master especially when they contradicted with the ones he'd already possessed, the ability to control different elements to a minor degree is one of them. (If anything bigger was needed it could be always done with a spell.) He channeled his magic, (a little something he had to learn how to do in order to survive in this specific period of his life) willing a lightning bolt to appear in his hand and then threw it towards his target while leaping to the school's roof to gain a better range for his next attack.

Ranma wasn't expecting to hit the demon so the fact that the Reaper avoided his attack didn't come as a great surprise. While in the air and heading for school he saw his target trying to back away and out of his reach, so he flipped in midair and sent another bolt towards his target saying

"Oh no, you don't shithead." Mere moments later he landed on the school's roof "You've had your fun making me chase you around now I'll have mine ripping your head off." His current emotions never displayed on his face (That was a weakness and he couldn't allow himself to show one in front of a possible enemy, hence keeping an emotionless mask on most of the time.) and his voice was as cold as ice.

Reaper's furious growl that answered his statement made Ranma realise how frustrating must it be for a said demon, once highly respected in the Hell's society to be a prey and have such a persistent hunter at that. The last thought brought out a chuckle. _/ How amusing! I should've realized it sooner, could've played on his nerves some more. /_came a satisfied thought. After all his annoyance never left him and Ranma was full set to get back at the demon for the earlier chase. Looking at the possibilities, he decided on making the Reaper dance for a while.

"Show Time!" He said with an evil smirk of a maniac gracing his features and proceeded to throw lightning bolts altering in generating them between his right and left hands leaving the Reaper with no other choice but to dodge.

He 'played' like that for a good ten minutes before getting bored and deciding to finish what was started so far from here more then two hours ago. He hopped down from the roof with a grace of a cat landing without a sound.

"Let's finish this. I have more important things to do than spend my whole day playing around with you." His words were carefully chosen; he knew that the suggestion that this was a mere game for him would wound the demon's ego.

This time though he received a reply that surprised and angered him a great deal, granted it didn't show itself on his face.

"If my spirit will be doomed to stay in this god forsaken hole of a world for three decades, then gods are my witnesses I'll make sure you'll stay to keep me company!"

_/Now that wasn't a slightest bit amusing. / _thought Ranma_ /Fuck it all! I never failed a mission in my life and this won't be an exception/_ anger colored his mental voice_ / And if this fucker really can live up to his promise then I'll just enjoy a thirty-year long vacation, it won't be my longest stay in some shitty world, and after all, nothing can compare to being turned into a panther for one hundred years, and as a punishment for an innocent (in his biased opinion) joke at that. /_ Without further musings, he conjured two vacuum blades and engaged himself in a fight.

The Reaper was a fighter of a great skill; Ranma had to give his full attention to the fight in order to win. Of course he could have just fried the demon, he knew so many different ways to do that, but where's the fun in that? However, even then getting into demons defenses was not a simple task and when he finally found an opening and drove his sword (vacuum blade) into Reaper's heart Ranma was covered in sweat and panting from the heavy workout. It's been a while since he had lost himself in a fight like this; most of the people capable to do that to him were his friends and a sparring match no matter how brutal can never compare to the real life and death fight.

Ranma was returned to reality by the demons voice

"_Shastem autori quotell _by the power of Rakshase you will stay in this world as long as my soul does _Etaeru cuot _with the power of gods I bind you Dragon."

Surprisingly he wasn't angry at the demon. In the short time that he spent with the Reaper, he gained Ranma's respect as a fighter, so he treated demon's last will with respect and acceptance. 

Ranma watched as life left the body of the demon and then steeling himself he took out a dragger from his sub-pocket. To finish what was started he needed to do only one more thing…

This specific dragger wasn't meant for fighting though. Its beauty was breathtaking. The dragger was made of pure silver crafted by the best and strengthened by magic it was unbreakable. It had a wild horse with its front legs raised in the air as if in strike embedded on its handle and a Chinese styled dragon running down its blade on both sides of it, both were made out of black onyx with blood-red rubies as their eyes.

The dragger served as an ID of a kind, every Hunter had one to identify them. It was charged with person's ki and magical aura, thus making each of them unique. It was also used during the creation of a contract in those cases when a Hunter chose to bind him/herself with one. When a Hunter completes a mission, they use this dragger to leave their personal 'signature' on the body.

Ranma neared the Reaper and with the words "The contract has been fulfilled." With one mighty swipe, he drove the dragger into demon's body, which then dissolved into thin air only to appear in the office of his latest employer mere moments later.

His honorarium was already materializing in his sub-space pocket where he tended to keep most of his belongings; it is convenient to keep anything you may need within hands reach, moreover with him spending most of his time traveling. Ranma was being able to create his sub-space pocket using one of the lost dimensions as a storage base, so pretty much he had a whole world worth of space. (If one were to look inside, they would see an endless orange sky with floating islands spread throughout it with Ranma's belongings piled on top of them.)

Ranma was startled by the crowd's loud gasps. The fact that students were watching the fight hadn't registered in his mind up until now, and when he instinctively looked up to see the source of the sound, he received a shock of a lifetime. There among the shocked students was standing Nabiki, one of the many people that he had lost any hope to see again. At first Ranma thought that she was just another look-alike but the recognition that had briefly shown in her eyes proved that it really was her. At that moment only one thought registered in his mind _/ I'm… Home… /_

Ranma was only dimly aware of his fiancées voices, all his attention focused on the simple fact of their presence. When the ability to comprehend anything but that simple fact finally returned to him he noticed that he was being squashed between an overly exited Shampoo and equally as exited Ukyo. Both girls were rattling non-stop about some nonsense and trying to get his attention by pressing their generous curves into him, while at the same time shooting each other killer looks. Then Ranma saw Akane who was standing a few feet away while going on and on with her famous 'Ranma you baka pervert' speech in full battle aura mode and was getting ready to pound him face first into the ground with that giant mallet of hers. 

Tired from the fight and mentally exhausted by the shocking revelation, a girl trouble was the last thing Ranma wanted to deal with. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down and resisting the urge to just throw them off of him, Ranma slowly and as calmly as he could said

"Get. Off. Of. Me."

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	4. Chapter 4

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 4

"Get. Off. Of. Me." At that moment his voice could've frozen the Hell over… repeatedly.

Nevertheless, the girls acted as if they didn't hear a thing.

"I said GET OFF. NOW" he spoke slowly and quietly but there was not one person in the crowd surrounding him that hasn't heard every single word. He sounded calm and dangerous even though he was barely keeping himself from causing said girls some heavy bodily harm. Everybody could literally feel the hidden power radiating from his words.

To emphasize his point Ranma allowed a tiniest bit of his aura to materialize and outline his entire form with a soft blue glow. The aura was so cold that it would've burned on girls' skin and they would had had no other choice besides to let go which they did with a startled yelp of pain and shell shocked that Ranma actually used force on them.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it. Next time I won't repeat myself and I can't promise that I'll be very gentle while reaching my goal MY way."

Ranma wasn't sure that he was as happy to get back anymore. He never actually liked it here and was quite happy living like he was, traveling from one dimension to the other not bound by anything except his desires and occasional incidents, as was the case now. He wasn't sure he could come back to living the way he had done before his little /accident/ with Happosai. In more than one way, it was one of the best things to ever happen to him. That didn't mean of course that Happi wouldn't suffer once Ranma got his hands on the old pervert. _/ Oh, the sweet taste of revenge! I'll enjoy every single moment of making his life a pure Hell. I won't kill him. No. There are fates much worse then death and I'll make sure to find the one that'll make him SUFFER and WISH for death. / _this thought returned him his near-lost good mood. _/Hmm… It looks like I will enjoy my stay after all. /_ Ranma smirked evilly making some people back away in fear.

"Alright, listen up! The fun's over! The lunch break has finished long time ago, and I believe you all should be in your classrooms right now. You have exactly five minutes to get there, starting NOW." Having seen Ranma so brutally kill the demon and hearing his earlier promise was enough to make the students and present staff members run for the school building as if their life depended on it.

The only ones left behind were Ranma's fiancées and Nabiki. They were staring at him disbelievingly with their mouths hanging open. Neither of the girls could believe what had just happened, Ranma being in control was just plain weird to them. Seeing he still had company, Ranma turned to them and if it was possible, his expression became even colder

"I don't know why you consider yourselves to be an exception," he said icily "but I suggest you start moving. You have less then two minutes left and you don't want to see me disappointed, now do you?" Ranma raised one eyebrow to emphasize his question.

Akane and Ukyo exchanged glances and sprinted out for the school. Something in their guts told them that this new Ranma wasn't the best person to fuck around with. Nevertheless they were fully intent on talking to Ranma later, in their minds he had a lot of explaining to do. Nabiki started to follow them but was stopped by a strong and at the same time an amazingly gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Can you stay behind, I need to talk to you." His voice was somewhat gentle but Nabiki didn't fool herself with believing that she had a choice. It was an order no matter how it was worded and it was to be obeyed. _/Well at least he made it sound like I had a choice and not barked it out army-style like he had done before. Makes me feel really special. /_ thought Nabiki sarcastically but stopped and waited none the less. She felt somewhat disappointed when the dark haired man removed his hand.

Shampoo just stayed there frozen on her spot afraid to do anything. Ranma looked at her quizzically

"Don't you have any deliveries to make? Your clients must be agitated by now."

"Oh, yes. Shampoo go. Shampoo see Airen later, yes?" Her voice was shaking and was laced with fear and relief at the same time. Young Amazon turned around grabbed her bicycle and left without looking back even once.

"Nice one, Saotome." said Nabiki in dry tone. "Now how about you drop that act and tell me what's going on and what the hell do you want. I need to get to my class you know."

"Glad to see you too." He answered in an equally dry tone. "Come on." Ranma extended his hand beckoning the short haired girl to take it.

"Wha--?" Nabiki started to say but was interrupted.

"I don't intend to be a local clown." Clearly irritated he waved his other hand in the direction of the school where all students were glued to the windows watching the exchange between the two. "Now take the fucking hand and let's get out of here." By now he was growling and was ready to just grab her and jump to the nearest roof. _/If we don't leave now I swear I'll blow up the fucking place along with all those brain-dead morons! What the hell are they staring at? Haven't they ever seen a man in a leather coat before/_

Nabiki saw the agitated look in Ranma's eyes and decided to get him away from the school before somebody gets hurt. And, judging by his expression, she should act quickly.

She reluctantly took his hand and "eeped" when he suddenly pulled her close and picked her up bridal style. She instinctively wrapped her hands around his neck and nearly screamed when he jumped up to the school roof without so much as a warning.

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Author's Note: My thanks to all the people who reviewed. You guys are making my life so much better!

I'm answering all the signed reviews so if you've GOT a QUESTION you want me to answer or any type of suggestion for the story you want to discuss please LEAVE me your EMAIL address so I can contact you.


	5. Chapter 5

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 5

# Furinkan High, the roof of the school building #

Ranma landed softly on the balls of his feet without making a sound and put the girl in his arms down. It was amusing to see the famous Ice Queen squeaking like a schoolgirl that saw a rat near her desk. The mental picture of Nabiki running around a desk with a rat sitting on top of it made him chuckle. Nabiki in her turn wasn't as amused and didn't take very good to his merriment.

"I don't see anything funny! You could've warned me. Stop smirking like that dammit, I nearly had a heart attack!"

"But you didn't." Ranma replied in cold and board voice. "Now lets get down to business. I have some questions and you will give me the answers that I need."

"It will cost you Saotome." Nabiki quickly went into her 'business' mode.

Ranma reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin with strange carvings on it. He casually tossed it to Nabiki who caught it and was now staring at the coin with wide eyes.

"Where did you get it?"

"That is not relevant. What you do need to know is that there's more where it came from. Answer my questions and you will leave this roof as a very wealthy person."

"I'm listening."

"Wise chose. How long have I been away?"

"What you were out of it the whole time and there wasn't any calendar to check up with? You poor dear!" her words were dripping with sarcasm but then she looked at Ranma's face and hurriedly answered "You were gone for a week, eight days if you count today."

Ranma couldn't hide his surprise at the fact. He expected it to be at least a couple of years if not longer but definitely NOT a week. Nabiki saw the expression on his face and couldn't help but ask

"The time ran differently for you?" It was a wild guess though not entirely impossible in the light of all things that regularly happen to Ranma. Her suspicions were confirmed when Ranma absent-mindedly nodded his head.

"What's the 'official' reason for my absence?"

"A training trip, of course. I take it that it wasn't?"

Ranma ignored her question and instead asked

"Who's great idea has it been?"

"Well, Happosai said that you had lost control and needed to be along for a while to get it back. He also said that he's done all he could to help you but it wasn't enough… to give you the time needed… t-to say good bye…R-Ranma?" Nabiki's face had turned white and she was trembling in fear by the time she finished speaking. The reason for this would've been obvious to anyone who saw Ranma at that moment.

Ranma was seeing red. _/ So it was **my** fault, huh?** I** was the one to lose control and **he** was oh so **kind** to send me to **HELL** on the **training** **trip** to regain it. How **noble** of him/ _before he could start a killing spree to calm his nerves Nabiki's voice returned him to the present. Seeing the state the girl was in quickly made Ranma self-conscious. The poor thing was going to pass out if he continued at this rate.

"It's ok Nabiki. Calm down. I'm fine now." strangely enough Nabiki calmed down almost immediately and then looked at him

"Happosai did something to you, didn't he?" she sounded almost timid

"Hai. He sent me away and destroyed my only way to get back. I'm here by a pure accident. But that's not important now." he spoke softly and quietly "Don't worry about it Nabs better tell me what happened while I was gone."

Nabiki couldn't believe what was happening, it was so strange to actually _talk _to Ranma and the fact that she kept loosing her composure every few minutes didn't help a bit, last time it happened she caught herself at actually wanting to talk with Ranma some more. Moreover, she found that she enjoyed hearing his voice, so soothing and gentle like a caress…_/Gahh! What is wrong with me? Get yourself together girl before you turn into a love-struck puppy! It's Ranma standing before you for god's sake/_ Nabiki decided to finish this as soon as possible of the fear that she'll lose it.

"Well… When you didn't come for dinner that night they wanted to go and search for you but then Happosai returned from his panty raid and told us about the 'training trip'." She was careful not to go into details. Angry Ranma is not a pleasant thing to see, and she already had had enough of that sight to last her for a month if not longer. Ranma nodded for her to continue. "I think you can imagine what happened next. Fathers started wallowing in self-pity and cursing at you, Akane went to the dojo to work out her anger at you for presumably 'leaving to be with one of your hussies', all Kasumi said was her famous 'Oh my!'" After a bit of thought Nabiki added "…though I think she was really worried about you. Nothing out of the usual. Next day the word got out, but everybody took it rather well I'd say and just went on with their lives. And seeing as you weren't here nothing major had happened since then." She didn't 'bother' to mention the fact that she was the one to sell the information to everyone interested.

"You want to tell me that nobody followed me to get me back or get their revenge while I was weakened?" Ranma was curious, that had never happened before. Every time he tried to find some peace and solitude somebody always followed him and just made things worse.

"Are you kidding?" Nabiki had the 'are-you-an-idiot-or-just-pretending-to-be-one' look "They may be stupid but they're not suicidal. Only those with a death wish will annoy a person who killed a demi-god, when he's out of control." Only when the words already left her lips did Nabiki realise what exactly did she say._ /Oh shit! I just called him a killer and dangerous for the society… I hope he doesn't take it too bad. /_ To her surprise Ranma didn't even flinch. Seeing the expression on the girls face Ranma let out a bitter laugh

"Don't be so surprised Nabs, you would be very surprised if I told you how often I hear those words. It's just, I didn't realise that you people knew it with all the 'treat-Ranma-like-a-thing-and-a-dumb-jock-he-is' routine so popular around here"

Nabiki flinched, she felt hurt and ashamed at his words. Hurt because he said them to her face. Ashamed because deep down inside she knew they were true. Until now she never realised it but she always thought of him as pawn in her schemes or as an easy way to make money but never did she consider him as a person. She was interrupted from her thoughts by that gentle voice of his

"Don't beat yourself over it. What's done is done, you can't change the past."

Ranma carefully took her hand and put two more coins in it.

"I may have couple of more tasks for you later on but right now you should return to your class, the bell is about to go. See ya later." with that said Ranma back flipped from the roof and when Nabiki looked down a mere moments later he wasn't anywhere in sight. Just than a bell rang reminding her that she had two more boring lessons to attend.

# With Ranma #

Ranma was roof hopping away from the school at insane speed, no more than a black blur for even a trained eye.

Now that he had the basic information Ranma had a lot to think about and to do that he needed to find a quiet and secluded spot to make sure that he won't be disturbed by anyone. Ranma briefly considered his once favourite spot under the bridge but then realised that everybody knew about it and will most likely look for him there in the first place. After some thought, he decided on a park located in the centre of Nerima. Ranma found an old tall tree near the lake and jumped on the branch four meters above the ground. The leaves and thick branches made it impossible to notice him from the ground and at the same time gave him a wonderful view of the ground and water below.

He made himself comfortable and entered a trance like state. First things first, Ranma needed to remember his life as a human and meditation was the best way to do it. Gradually it all came back to him, the fights, the fiancées, his father, mother and the life with the Tendo's. They were not happy memories but they were important if Ranma was to come back to living with his 'family' even for a short while. He remembered everything from his arrival at the dojo on that rainy day to the night when he was banished by that old pervert of a cockroach.

Ranma wasn't angry or upset he just felt tired. Tired of the chaos in his life, the fights, of the girls who wanted him and of the life itself. At that one moment all the years that he spent in his travels caught up with him.

At the beginning of his 'new' life he tried to count every year that went by, then his count slipped to every hundred and a bit later he caught himself counting thousands… after all what's a year or a dozen for the one who lived through more then ten millennia. And through all this time his body stayed that of twenty-three year old, the age when he was reborn and his 'new' life began…

It wasn't all that uncommon though. Many demons didn't even hold that account. It is a hard thing to do when a minute in one dimention can be a year in another. The time difference varied greatly from one dimension to the other, usually the count was held by the reference to the well-known and highly respected dimension, located at 'the Crossroads' (1) more often than not. Hell was one of such dimensions. If you looked at the situation closely enough you would see that for many Hell was a centre of their existence just as it was the Central Crossroad. (2)

On contrary to the Christian beliefs, prisons and torture chambers occupied only five 'Lower Levels' of Hell. The remaining four so called 'Upper Levels' could be compared to a metropolis city on earth. One could find there literally anything. Nightclubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and casinos shared the First Layer with various shops and market places where you could buy anything you can imagine and much more. The Second Layer was filled with hospitals, banks, infrastructure and offices of all possible businesses. There were travel agencies, legal firms, and main offices of manufacturers of virtually anything, all kinds of service agencies that varied from an escort service that supplied you with a beauty of any race for any occasion to a Hunter's office that supplied you with a body of anyone who makes you uncomfortable enough for you to pay for their death. The Third and Fourth Layers were the 'living' area. There were numerous apartment blocks, houses and mansions but only a select few were rich enough to live there.

As such Ranma or the Dragon (as he was known there) was an eighty-six years old by Hell's calendar, a relatively young demon that achieved great heights. On the First Level Ranma gradually built a restaurant chain where the best dishes from all over the universe are served. He owned the 'New Age Tech' on the Second Level, a huge technology&magic-orientated company where the tech. and magical achievements of different dimensions were put together to create the best products found on the trans-dimensional (TD) markets. Bounty Hunting was more of a hobby, after all any business gets boring after a while and he made sure to employ the best so he didn't worry about not being there to personally control and supervise everything. Ranma lived in a mansion on the Fourth Level. It was surrounded by thick forests and provided him with sometimes much needed privacy.

Ranma contemplated all of this while sitting on his tree. He didn't need to work while staying here in fact he was rich enough not to work for the rest of his LONG life and still leave with all the comforts possible but it was just not his style. He LIKED to work and meet challenges while doing so and starting a business here, with no foundation at all was more than enough of a challenge for the first time, maybe later he would think of something more fun to do.

Now to make sure that his little 'vacation' won't affect his life in Hell. From what Nabiki told him it would be quite inconvenient where timeframes were concerned. If eighty odd years in Hell was only a week here he would be gone longer than what was acceptable, nothing a little meddling with Space and Time won't correct. Withdrawing even deeper into himself Ranma found his centre and began the delicate task of adjusting the Streams of Time to his liking. Every experienced Dimensional Traveller knows how to do it as it makes ones travels much less time consuming and there's no risk that you will return a thousand years after you left.

That problem solved, Ranma concentrated on the next one. He was going to meet his one-time family in less then one and a half hours and he needed to decide what exactly to tell them and how much of the truth to reveal. He couldn't tell them everything that wasn't a question, but even so they deserved to know at least some of the truth. The fact that he couldn't predict their reactions to him being a demon now only made things worse. On the other hand not telling them could backlash on him later on. There were more then enough people that would wish for his death and even more that will gladly take to the job of getting rid of him. (3) Usually they weren't anything but an annoyance but now they actually could become a threat. Killing him was close to impossible but destroying a world was relatively easy and killing those close to him even easier in this particular case. (4) Now that he was bound to stay in this world, if it was destroyed he will go down with it. An opportunity his enemies won't miss if they manage to figure out his predicament. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Ranma will do all possible and impossible to keep his stay here a secret or at least not to let his lack of the ability to leave this place at any given instant to be known. Easier said than done.

Ranma decided on one thing, nobody would destroy this world in the near thirty years. After that he may blow up the damn hellhole himself for all the trouble it caused him.

Mind set, his near future decided and grinning like a maniac Ranma left the park and headed for the Tendo Dojo to make 're-acquaintances' with his so called 'family'.

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(1) – The Crossroads. If you will look on the map of the universe, you will see countless energy lines (The Dimensional Roads) that penetrate it everywhere from different angles. The best way to describe them is like a spider's web made inside a ball. In order to move from one dimension to another one needs to follow The D-Roads and use them as a guide and an anchor to prevent being left in The Dark Zone (a place without The D-Roads) and thus not being able to travel anywhere. The Crossroads are the places where The D-Roads intersect. The dimension located there and having acceptable environmental conditions will attract travellers and quickly become a centre of the activity in the area.

(2) – The Central Crossroad is simply a centre of the 'web' created by The D-Roads. One can call it 'the centre of the universe' and will be very close to the truth.

(3) – Do you really think that Ranma could've lived that long and not pissed anyone off?

(4) – Most of Ranma's other-dimensional friends are the ones who taught him a great deal of what he knows now. I mean education, martial arts and magic training, how to be a good demon and many other useful things /grin/. Some of them are still more powerful than Ranma. Don't tell me you think they can't handle a small annoyance! Nerimians on the other hand couldn't even reach Ranma's level before the little Happosai incident (he's much _much much_ more powerful now) so they will be a relatively easy kill for anyone persistent enough.

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	6. Chapter 6

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

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Some Japanese words that I decided to use in the chapter:

Tadaima – 'I'm back!' 'I'm home!'

Okaeri – 'Welcome back!'

Baka – 'Idiot' 'Stupid'

Hentai – 'Pervert'

Nani – 'What'

Hai – 'Yes'

Shan – 'Beautiful' (I'm not so sure about this one but I like the word so I'll use it anyway. :P)

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Chapter 6

# Tendo Dojo #

"Tadaima" came the unusually cheerful greeting of the middle Tendo while the youngest one stormed out upstairs mumbling something incoherent about 'bossy hentai no bakas'

"Okaeri Nabiki" greeted her younger sister Kasumi exiting the kitchen "Where is Akane?"

"She's in her room and probably will be going to the dojo as soon as she changes."

As if to prove her words Akane already in her gi exited her room, and still mumbling angrily to herself went to the dojo.

"Oh my. Did something happen at school?" the elder sister asked worriedly.

"No, nothing major." Nabiki chose not to mention the gruesome fight and the death of a demon at the end of it. "Little Princes is just mad that Ranma outright ignored her today." it was said with a hidden smirk and in a casual tone of voice.

"Ignored? That's not very polite." then the implication of what her sister just said hit her "Ranma' back?" exclaimed an extremely surprised and at the same time happy Kasumi. When she realised her outburst she blushed and hurried to the kitchen to 'make something special for the occasion' calling out over her shoulder "Dinner will be ready in half an hour".

Nabiki's smirk just got wider. It was extremely difficult to get any reaction from Kasumi, except for her famous 'Oh my' the eldest sister always wore a cheerful expression. Nabiki knew her sister was attracted to the younger Saotome and she didn't blame her for it. After all, no matter how amusing Tofu's 'reaction' to her was it's not exactly what girl wants in a relationship.

On the way to her room Nabiki noticed that neither Nodoka nor the fathers were at home. _/ Probably getting drunk somewhere and will somehow manage to crawl back here in time for dinner … as usual. /_ her mental voice was full of disgust for both men. _/ I wonder where Nodoka is though. /_

She was couple of steps away from her door when Nabiki saw Happosai preparing for his now daily panty raid. Nabiki immediately remembered her conversation with Ranma and specifically the real reason for his 'training trip'.

"Why hello there Nabiki-chan" by now Happosai learned the hard way not to touch the Tendo sisters. He noticed her good mood and the curiosity got the best of him. "I see you're in a very good mood may I ask what caused it?"

She was hoping for him to ask that question. With an overly sweet voice, one that everybody who had more than a passing acquaintance with the middle Tendo knew meant trouble, she answered.

"Oh, you didn't know?" she had trouble keeping her smirk off her face. "Ranma's back."

Now, Happosai lived for more then three hundred years and in those three plus centuries had seen most of what there is to see. During those long years he had become one of the most powerful people on the planet. Given that there were very few things that could scare him. Despite all of that, those two words **terrified** the lecherous Grandmaster. The blood drained from his face leaving him as white as paper, he was shaking like a leaf and every hair on his body stood upright. At that state, his mind was capable of only one coherent thought _/ H-H-HE is-s b-b-back/_

Nabiki watched the old hentai freeze at the mention of Ranma's name. She saw the look of terror creep on his face followed by the uncontrollable shaking. Happosai looked as if he's going to have a heart attack. This was DEFINITELY NOT the reaction she expected. Shock? Yes. Some anger? Possible. But TERROR? _/Where in hell did you sent him to fear his return this much/_ Ironically, Nabiki didn't know that she had just answered her own question. The perplexed girl watched as the Grandmaster of TheAnything Goes Martial Arts fainted not able to deal with the strain that fear put on his system.

"Nice work." startled, Nabiki whipped her head toward the direction the sarcastic and somewhat pleased voice came, only to see those impossible stormy grey-blue eyes.

# A few minutes earlier #

Ranma watched as the Tendo sisters came home. He looked on, amused by their behavior. It wasn't a secret for a black haired man that all three were attracted to him. He knew it even when he lived here as a human. Ranma was never the dumb jock all Nerimians assumed him to be … quite the opposite. No he had chosen to play the role as his life was rather easier when nobody took him seriously. He saw Nabiki going upstairs where he previously felt the old hentai's presence. Using the improved version of the Umi-sen-ken (1) Ranma followed her to the bedrooms fully intent on having a little 'chat' with the dried cockroach when Nabiki was done talking with him.

Seeing Happosai terrified and knowing that his return was the cause of it left Ranma highly satisfied. His only regret at the moment was that he didn't do it personally. Nabiki's bewildered expression and obvious panic forced him to interfere before the girl did something stupid like scream and alert everybody to what's going on.

"Nice work." when Nabiki looked at him Ranma continued "Though you could've left me the pleasure of making him choke when I entered the dining room." he sounded almost wishful.

"Wha…I-i-s h-he d-d-dead?" fear and panic were thick in Nabiki's voice.

"Oh no, just fainted. It's nothing serious, unfortunately. " Ranma 'assured' the girl in a bored and mildly disappointed tone of voice.

"NANI? You WANT him to be dead?" asked disbelieving Nabiki looking at him with wide eyes.

"Uhh…yes, as a matter of fact I do." then after a bit of thought he added "Though I'd prefer him to suffer for all eternity, like he hoped that I would if I survived by some miracle." the last part Ranma mumbled to himself but Nabiki somehow managed to hear it.

"……….."

"Oh well, I'd better get the scum into his room, somebody could trip over him and hurt themselves." with a dramatic sigh Ranma picked up Happosai by one leg and carried the Grandmaster of his old school to his bedroom making sure to bump hentai's head intoeverythingas much as possible. _/ If I couldn't give him a heart attack I will at least make sure that he'll wake up with a huge headache. /_

The thought brought a slight sprint to his step.

"………." Nabiki watched the man go then shook her head and went to her room. _/ To hell with it, my mental health is more important. /_

x x x

Kasumi was putting the finishing touches to the grand dinner she prepared for the occasion. She was extremely excited by Ranma's return and wanted to please him by serving his favorites for dinner. Unnoticed by the girl her thoughts drifted from the meal to the boy no scratch that the gorgeous hunk of a man that she was cooking it for. She imagined how he would return extremely tired from the training trip, she would sit him at the table and bring out his favorite foods. Then she will feed the man while sitting on his lap and leaning on his hard muscled chest that will be so deliciously pressing against her breasts. Kasumi imagined herself feeding him a rice ball from mouth to mouth, which would slowly escalate to a very deep French kiss. His hands would caress her body sending shivers down her spine, he then would fondle her breasts and squeeze her buttocks while grinding his erection into her already wet pussy…

Kasumi didn't get any further in her fantasies because she was interrupted by the smooth and incredibly sexy voice, vaguely familiar to her.

"Well hellooo there. Hard at work as always I see." Ranma said with an amused smirk. He had been passing by the kitchen after dropping Happosai off, literally, and since the table was yet to be set he decided to offer his help. His good intentions flew out of the window when his sensitive nose picked up a heavy sent of arousal coming from the elder Tendo sister. The steel-like will that Ranma developed after countless years of dealing with women was the only thing keeping him in control of his body and preventing the demon from taking the girl right then and there.

Ranma watched as she turned around blushing in a mix of embarrassment and excitement. He saw her eyes widen when she saw him, her mouth was already opening to ask something, probably his identity when recognition and then disbelief played on the girls face.

"Oh my. R-Ranma?" her blush deepened when Kasumi got a better look of the man standing in front of her. Her eyes taking in all the changes and at the same time feasting at the sight.

"The one and the only." Ranma flashed her his famous lady-killer smile that made some women faint and caused the other's knees to buckle "I was wondering if you needed any help setting up the table…? "

"On no, it's alright." Kasumi finally composed herself "You must be tired, why don't you go to your room to change and freshen up a bit? The dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"Whatever you say, shan" with another smile and a mock bow Ranma exited the kitchen and went to his room leaving a blushing Kasumi behind.

His 'room' was in fact a rather large storage closet rearranged to fit his needs after Nodoka moved into the dojo and to the guestroom with Genma. It never mattered to Ranma though, the fact that he used it only for sleep and that he finally got away from the fat fur ball that was Genma, made it better than any luxury hotel room at that time.

However, that was _then_, in the present he would've preferred a large bed with an attractive woman in it, not the lone futon on the cold floor. Ranma sighed and took of his leather coat. He could think about finding another place to sleep later, right now he needed to change and head down for dinner.

Ranma looked at the shirt he found in the dresser and threw it back in. He wasn't in the mood for red right now. Reaching into his sub-pocket Ranma pulled out a silk outfit and put it on. Plain silver pants with drawstrings at the ankles combined with a long sleeved Chinese dress/shirt with its tails shy 10 centimeters of touching the ground. The shirt was silver with golden trim and a golden Chinese styled dragon embroidered on it. A soft pair of slippers completed Ranma's idea of a comfortable and homely outfit. As a final touch, Ranma untied his hair and let it cascade down his back and chest in a raven waterfall. (2)

x x x

When Ranma entered the dining room Nabiki and Akane were already sited at the table. A quick scan with his senses showed that Kasumi was in the kitchen helping Nodoka unpack the groceries she went out to buy and that the fathers hadn't returned as of yet.

The girls openly gawked at the sight that Ranma presented. And while Akane was shocked into silence from her continuous whining about today's events Nabiki found herself mesmerized by the bishounen standing in front of her. Ranma's clothes gave her a perfect view of his body the silver silk was clinging to his form outlining every muscle and curve. It didn't help that her imagination supplied Nabiki with images of her straddling a naked Ranma while running her hands across his firm toned chest. It wasn't long before her nipples hardened and a familiar wetness engulfed her pussy.

The girls' reactions didn't escape Ranma's notice and when he was about to comment on that a gasp from behind drew his attention. Looking back, he was treated to the sight of a gaping Nodoka and a cheerful Kasumi. Ranma greeted them with a nod and silently joined two sisters at the table sitting beside Akane as had become a custom.

"Ranma? Oh my, you're finally back! How was your training trip? Is everything all right now? You look so handsome in this kimono. (3)" Nodoka asked/said in one breath sitting beside Ranma after she overcome her shock.

"Everything is fine, thank you." Ranma's face was carefully blank of any emotions and his voice was nothing but polite.

At this note, Soun and Genma entered the room surprisingly sober (not as drunk as they usually were) which could only mean that they ran out of money and were subsequently thrown out of the bar. Seeing Ranma, Soun went into the 'Ranma's back schools will be joined' rant complete with the waterworks while Genma started berating Ranma about how weak and pathetic it was to lose control.

Not in the mood to deal with them at this particular moment, Ranma glared at the men. This proved enough to shut the fathers up and make them hurry to their seats staying as far from the black haired man as possible.

Kasumi and Nodoka served the food and two families proceeded to eat their dinner in a somewhat tense silence. To the surprise of all present Ranma ate slowly and showed excellent table manners, a silent glare that promised suffering convinced Genma to keep to his own plate. When the after dinner tea was served Happosai interrupted them, he was coming downstairs while holding his head in obvious pain. When the old master saw Ranma he acted upon the reflex, splashing him with cold water and calling out 'SWEETO!' Happosai lunged at the onna-Ranma's chest only to be snatched out of the air by a very wet and obviously very pissed male Ranma.

"Ahh, just the person I wanted to see… dead. We have a lot to _discuss_ Happi, my _training_ _trip _among other things. After all it's only proper that I show you what I accomplished thanks to your help." his voice was oozing with sarcasm and an obvious promise of pain.

That's when everybody came out of their shock.

"Oh my!" was Kasumi's only response.

"Waghhh! Ranma's cured and can finally marry my little girl! Waghhhh!" Soun was wailing in joy.

"Y-y-you didn't change….!" stammered shocked and a bit fearful Akane.

"You ungrateful boy! You found a cure and didn't bring it to your father?" Genma's face was red in anger.

"Ohhh, my son is so manly now!" Nodoka was happily dancing around the room.

"How…?" Nabiki quiet voice was nearly lost among all the shouting.

Happosai merely paled realizing the fact that he will never his darling Ranma-chan again was by far not the worst thing that will happen to him in the near future.

"No, I didn't find a cure." Ranma's calm voice froze everyone on their places.

"But you didn't change!" came Akane's angry accusation.

"I didn't say that I still have a curse. I was cured by a lucky accident, …if you can call it that." _/ Being caught in a crossfire between five very powerful and extremely pissed off gods certainly doesn't happen every day. And I prefer to think that being hit by every party simultaneously really WAS an accident. / _"The circumstances are impossible to recreate"_ / Two of them were killed in that fight. Can't say I'm sorry for them. /_ "And frankly I still have no idea why that removed my Jusenko curse." / _Well that's mostly true, I know that the magics lashed out and cancelled each other out, that's the main reason I survived. However, I still have no idea which of them reacted with the curse. / _

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take Happosai to the dojo. We have a lot to _discuss_" with a twisted sadistic grin Ranma headed to the dojo leaving a room of shell-shocked people behind.

# The dojo #

Closing the shoji door behind him, Ranma tossed Happosai to the middle of the dojo.

"Long time no see, Happi." Ranma's voice was cold but he still managed to sound amused. "Did you miss me?"

"H-h-how? I was sure that I cut your link! And even if I messed up, only demons can escape Hell!" he was shaking in rage and fear at the same time.

"Bingo."

"DEMON? You're a Traveler?" (4) old master's jaw dropped to the floor wile his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Impossible! You could never handle even a simplest magic never mind a Portal."

"True, but things change." Ranma got a wicked smirk on his face "And me not being a human anymore certainly helped to deal with that problem."

After saying that Ranma's form shimmered and the illusion that gave him human-like appearance was removed.

There weren't any dramatic changes. His body didn't become that of a beast and he didn't grew horns, no, nothing like that but that's exactly why the change was even more horrendous. The fact that such a creature looked so much like a human was terrifying.

Ranma's skin became paler to the point where it was almost snowy white, his hair was dipped in silver at the rim, and two silver streaks framed his face. The blue of his eyes became even brighter and the pupils morphed into feline-like slits. Pointed ears, fangs and claws completed the transformation. Now before Happosai stood The Dragon, one of the most feared demons in the Known Worlds.

Ranma smirked at Happosai giving the old hentai an excellent view of his fangs.

"Let's play shall we."

Sounds of flesh meeting flesh and wood of the floor as well as a clear sound of bones being broken along with screeches of pain and pleas for mercy filled the night air of Nerima. Not many managed to recognize Happosai's voice behind them, but those who did shook in fear not daring to imaging who could extract such a reaction from one of the most powerful humans of this particular world.

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(1) – The Umi-sen-ken is one of the sealed techniques of the Anything Goes style that was originally created by Genma. The idea for is to use your ki to cover yourself and become invisible. (did I get it right?)

(2) – I will try to post some illustrations to this story later on, for now please bear with my descriptions. If it helps, my Ranma looks a bit like Max from 'Four Dragon Island' by Shindo Tatsuki only his hair is black. _There are_ differences but it will give at least something for your imagination to work with.

(3) – I have no idea of the proper name for this clothing so I will be calling it kimono or robe until some holy and thrice blessed soul will tell me how's it called.

(4) – A 'demon' stands for a dimensional traveler. For example anyone from a different dimension will be a 'demon' for us, the same thing goes for 'them'. I can just imagine some slimy monster with say six tentacles running around screaming bloody murderer at a sight of a classical 'cute' school girl. What? It's a standard reaction to a demon isn't it? (0.0) :P

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	7. Chapter 7

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech unless specified differently.

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

Author's Note: Huge thanks to Ranger5 for pre-reading this story and correcting my mistakes and of course, may every reviewer be thrice blessed and made a saint! Thank you for support!

:D

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

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Some Japanese words that I used in this chapter

Hentai – 'Pervert'

Baka yarou – 'Foolish bastard'

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Chapter 7

# Tendo Dojo, the following morning #

As the two families settled down for breakfast, one person was conspicuous by his absence, the lecherous Grandmaster Happosai. This unexplained event caused different reactions from the gathered. They all heard screams coming from the dojo last night but only Nabiki knew that Happosai came very close to dieing during his encounter with Ranma, close that is if he was lucky. She didn't want to think of the alternate possibility though, no matter how much she despised the old hentai she didn't wish a death on him. On the other hand, Ranma made his intentions painfully clear to her yesterday and Nabiki didn't doubt for a second that the tortures the black haired man had in store for the old cockroach were far worse then death, no matter how brutal that death might be. Given her distaste for the old Grandmaster she was left with somewhat mixed feelings.

Kasumi had her cheerful smile on as usual but inside she was a bit scared and strangely enough exited. The thought of Ranma being powerful enough to make Happosai beg fueled some of pseudo-housewife's more 'naughty' fantasies. Strangely enough Kasumi found herself getting aroused by the mere memory of the forcefulness he showed yesterday as well as the control he had of the situation at hand.

Nodoka was in a la-la land, thoughts of how manly her son was were the only things that mattered tothe honor-obsessed woman. She could already imagine dozens of grateful women draped all over her oh-so-manly son, offering to show him their gratitude for ridding them of the panty thief and as a consequence giving her swarms of grandchildren to raise and spoil.

The Tendo and Saotome patriarchs were hard pressed to restrain themselves from dancing in joy and screaming in glee. They had long dreamed of this moment, and their dreams seemed to be coming true at last. Their master's shrieks of pain and desperate pleas for mercy created memories they would long cherish, probably for the rest of their lives, however long those might last.

Akane was grumbling about not getting enough sleep last night and as usual blamed Ranma for this. The stray thought that she wanted old freak beaten to a bloody pulp and that she should probably thank Ranma for finally doing so was swatted aside in favor of finding a reason to use her mallet-sama on the 'baka' sitting next to her.

Ranma acted as if he didn't have a care in the world. He was in a wonderful mood practically beaming and radiated a sense of satisfaction. The devilish smile he had on his lips and a maniacal glint in his eyes went unnoticed by all except two older sisters who were rather disturbed (and excited) by the sight.

Finally, Kasumi worked up enough courage to ask the question that was on everyone's mind whetherthey acknowledged it or not. With a cheerful smile and a bit of curiosity in her voice she asked

"Won't Happosai-san be coming down to eat?"

Ranma turned to look at the girl while his smile widened even more

"I'm afraid Happi won't be showing up any time soon." His voice was anything but regretful "After our little 'chat' last night he decided to take a…vacation to think things through."

"Oh my, and he didn't even stay long enough to say good bye." Kasumi couldn't help but think of how similar this situation was to what happened a week ago. She wasn't stupid enough to think it was a coincidence, Ranma's behavior told her as much.

Nabiki felt almost sorry for the old freak, the key word being 'almost'. Something pushed her to press the matter though, cursing her curiosity with the impassive demander that the Ice Queen was famous for, slyly she addressed Ranma.

"So he just up and left in the middle of a night?"

"It just so happens that during my 'training trip' I heard of a wonderful health resort and when I told Happi about it yesterday he got 'very enthusiastic' about visiting it."

By now, even the most clueless person present had noticed the conversation and was intently following the exchange. Everyone knew the reason behind Happosai's 'enthusiasm', his terror filled screams still fresh in their memory.

"What's the catch?" Nabiki knew there had to be something wrong with that resort if Ranma sent Happosai there.

"Now why does there need to be a catch?" Ranma adopted an innocent expression completewith a pout and large inquiring eyes. "Can't an old man enjoy some time relaxing in the hot springs?" _/filled with boiling lava while being subjected to his worst nightmares and inhuman tortures…Oh yes lets not forget that he will be there for the rest of his miserable life./ _

Nobody questioned his answer, it was a common knowledge that Ranma couldn't lie even if his life depended on it. A fact that while HAD been true at some stage was not any longer and one that if told to his other-dimentional friends would drive them into hysterical fits, they would be laughing so hard.

Nabiki just rolled her eyes at the look on Ranma's face and decided that she'll get the details about this 'resort' out of Ranma later. She gracefully rose from the table picking up her schoolbag as she headed towards the door only to be stooped by Akane's voice.

"Where are you going?" confusion was written all over her face.

"To school of course." Was Nabiki's stoic reply "I for once don't want to be late."

"LATE?" the younger Tendo shrieked in surprise. She looked at the clock and franticly stood up, they could still make it. The girl turned to Ranma and screamed "HURRY UP YOU BAKA! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE BECAUSE OF YOU!" Akane reached out to take him by the collar and drag him off as happened countless times in the past. That was a very _very_ big mistake.

x x x

Ranma was having a wonderful day. Yesterday night he got back at Happosai and had loads of 'fun' doing so, his long held fantasies of beating the old scum to a bloody pulp never came even close to the reality, that by itself was enough for his mood to improve drastically compared to the previous day. His little 'question & answer' game with two Tendo sisters was really something he enjoyed too. Too bad his good mood didn't last too long though.

Ranma's sensitive ears were assaulted by the younger Tendo's deafening scream. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't a very pleasant experience. The fact that the loudmouthed bitch was standing right next to him only made things that much worse. In human form Ranma's senses were dull compared to his "real" one but they still were much better than that of a human. When the spoiled brat tried to grab him by the collar Ranma decided that enough was enough.

Before anyone could even blink Ranma had her wrist in iron grip one that will surely result in some colorful bruises later on. Ranma snarled the only reason the girl was still alive was because dealing with murder charges would result in a headache, he didn't have proper connections to shrug it of…yet. But that reasoning wouldn't be in effect for long if Akane continued to annoy him.

"First of all, if you ever scream like that near me again I'll rip your voicebox out." said the pony tailed man with a deadly voice that sent shivers down everybody's backs. "Secondly, if you want to do something, do it but DO NOT assume that I will follow you like a love sick puppy. And lastly, grab me like that again and I will make sure to break every fucking bone in your hand. Am I clear?"

Akane was shaking in fear by the end of that speech while everybody else was too shocked to do more than sputter incoherently let alone say anything. Ranma was waiting for her answer but seeing she wasn't forthcoming with one any time soon he tightened his hold on girl's arm.

"Am I clear?" this timehis voice gained an agitated tone to it.

The pain brought Akane back to her senses and she vigorously nodded her had while muttering a weak "Yes" wishing for nothing more than for him to let her go. Tears gathered in her eyes caused by the pain, the youngest Tendo was sure that if Ranma held on for another minute her wrist would be crushed.

A considerably calmer Ranma let go of Akane and turned to speak to Kasumi

"Akane will be staying home today, make sure to take care of her wrist."

A protest was ready on Akane's lips but one icy look from the man in front of her made her swallow it, meekly following her elder sister to the kitchen where a first aid kit was kept.

"Let's go." Ranma calmly walked past Nabiki and out of the door.

Standing there for a moment longer Nabiki finally snapped out of her stupor and hurriedly ran after Ranma's retreating back. When she finally caught up with him Nabiki decided it was time they had a little talk. She grabbed his arm and twirled Ranma around not caring that she may share her sister's fate for such actions.

# Tendo Dojo #

A couple of minutes after Nabiki's hurried departure the recent events finally settled in Soun's mind and he broke down crying like an unstable child

"Whaaaaaaah! He hurt my little girl! Whaaaaaaaah! He doesn't love her anymore! Whaaaaaaah! Now the schools will newer be joined! Whaaaaaah!"

Soun's wails caused the other two to return to reality. Genma started to berate Ranma for being an 'ungrateful failure of a son' while Nodoka was rambling about how un-manly it was of Ranma to hurt his fiancée.

In the kitchen Kasumi was tending to Akane's right hand and listening to her younger sister curse Ranma's very existence.

"Who does he think he is? That baka yarou will pay for doing this to me! How dare he order me around like I'm his property! He's a psycho! He should be restrained and isolated!" Akane was fuming and literally glowing a dark red color. When Kasumi was finished Akane snatched her hand from her sister's grasp and stormed upstairs to her room without so much as a thank you.

Kasumi sadly shook her head, she knew it had been only a matter of time before Ranma finally snapped. With the way he had been treated this past two years it was inevitable, she was surprised he actually lasted this long. Kasumi didn't like the way Ranma treated her sister but even the gentle Kasumi couldn't blame him for the outburst after everything that her sister had done to him. She sighed and proceeded to clean the breakfast table unnoticed by the others as if she was a ghost.

# With Ranma #

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Nabiki was shaking with barely repressed rage by now "You nearly broke her arm! What's gotten into you? First you disappear then you return only to kill a demon in the middle of the schoolyard whose body dissolves into a thin air after you stab his corpse. You've tortured Happosai and then you snap at my sister!" the famous Ice Queen was near hysterical.

Ranma just calmly stood there listening to the girl with a bored look in his eyes.

"Are you done?" he asked in a cold flat tone.

"What?"

"You heard me." Ranma continued in the same tone "Look at yourself, you're smarter than most women twice your age and yet you're acting like an emotional schoolgirl" those words had the same effect a slap would have had, Nabiki couldn't think of anything to say. "Your sister is a spoiled brat that lives in a pink fantasy world" the man's voice held a hint of disgust to it "You can't shelter her from the truth forever and you know it. She's eighteen for Shenlon's sake and she's acting like she's five. We both know that you and Kasumi tried to keep her in line but obviously your methods don't work that well. And now that I've finally put her in place and done exactly what you wanted to do for so long you throw yourself into a fit of hysterics. Do you seriously think that I will tolerate that bitch's stunts and temper tantrums? I should be made a saint only because I managed to put up with her for this long and Dark Gods know even my patience has its limits" Ranma's eyes now had a fire raging within them, obviously he was not as calm as he wanted to appear.

"I'm s-sorry." Nabiki said almost too quiet to hear "I guess it's happening just a tad bit too quickly for me too handle, things have been happening too fast even for me. I just need a little time to figure everything out." She hung her head so her hair overshadowed her eyes in attempt to hide the despair she knew showed in them.

Nabiki was startled to feel a warm and surprisingly gentle hand under her chin and a moment later she was losing herself in twin pools of blue-grey eyes while a gentle comforting voice soothed her troubled mind and heart.

"Hey... look at me. Most people would have gone crazy by now and you are just a bit confused that's already saying something don't you think? Come on, get yourself together it won't do for people to see you like this." Ranma watched Nabiki take few deep breaths while a more collected and neutral look appeared on her face "Good" a moment was broken and cool business tones started to return to Ranma's voice "You'll have five periods at school during which you can sort through everything but now I need you to listen." Ranma stepped out of Nabiki's personal space in favor of leaning against the nearby wall "I will need your assistance later this day, are you willing to provide it?" after a moment of thought he added "I will pay of course."

Nabiki seriously contemplated the offer. She was a little hurt by his remark about payment but a rational part of her mind knew better. After a few more moments she agreed and somehow had a vague felling that she just sold her soul to a devil or at the very least gave it up for rent. She was not that far from the truth.

A madman's grin appeared on Ranma's lips "Perfect. Now to deal with the more pressing matters."

"What do you mean?"

"School starts in five minutes and I believe that not so long ago you told me that you didn't want to be late." Nabiki's eyes widened in realization and she was ready to run there in hopes of not being _too_ late. Instead Nabiki squeaked when she felt a pair of strong arms envelop her from behind. Ranma only chuckled, amusement practically radiating off of him. "I know of a much faster and convenient way to travel." Without further ado Ranma teleported only to appear seconds later near the school gates.

x x x

Nabiki was trying to come to grips with what had just happened. Ranma had hugged her pressing her back against his toned chest causing small shivers of excitement to roll down girl's spine, than everything blurred leaving Nabiki disorientated and weak in her knees, the next thing she knew, she was standing in front of the school gates with Ranma huskily whispering in her ear.

"I'll pick you up after the school ends. Don't be late." In the following second Ranma vanished as if he never was there in the first place.

The middle Tendo stood shock still until the warning bell rung and students began to enter the building. She was standing a little to the side and in the shadows of a tree so nobody noticed her yet. Nabiki quickly composed herself and adopted the stoic expression she was famous for. Taking a deep breath she proceeded to enter the school. Nabiki's subordinates were waiting for her near her desk ready to give their reports as well as receive new assignments. Nabiki took another deep breath and approached them, she had matters to attend and could not allow herself to be distracted by the confusing behavior of the man that was wreaking havoc in her life, one that before yesterday she could read like a book.

# Nerima Park, high in a tree near the lake #

Ranma materialized on the same branch he had occupied the previous day, he needed to think and this place seemed like the best choice.

The feel of Nabiki's body so close to his and the smell of her excitement had quite an effect on his lower half so Ranma was forced to spend a few minutes struggling with his body, willing it to calm down.

He knew he overreacted with Akane and that was bothering him. Ranma prided himself on control and today he let it slip, it was a miracle the girl was still alive. Usually he tried to avoid outbursts like that because they tended to end in a mass slaughter or at the very least a lot of property damage. He couldn't allow himself to lose control like that again even though he knew that there were more than enough people around who would tempt him.  
Ranma was sure that he would have to deal with his past and those who had tormented him, after all, the news of his return would spread quickly, that was a given and his so called rivals wouldn't miss a chance to try and spill his blood.

Then there were the fiancées that needed to be dealt with, he'd rather be dead than married. He had enough women with a master-servant bond connected to him, he didn't want a wife especially not an unstable teenager.  
Next on the list were his parents, Ranma needed to find a way to prevent their intrusion with his life he had experienced more than enough of that already.  
And of course the cherry on top was that Ku Lon had surely sensed him the other night and probably knew what exactly he had become. The prospect of explaining himself to her wasn't in any way appealing to Ranma.  
He needed a way out, a solution that would allow him to start a new life and he needed it _now. _

After pondering various possible solutions for an hour or so, Ranma came to conclusion that renouncing the Saotome name was his best choice. It would get his parents off of his case as well as take care of all the engagements and promises made by Genma (and there had been _a lot_ of them).

He hoped that Ku Lon would be reasonable enough to talk things through, for her own and her village's sake, the last thing a sane person would want is an angry Ranma on their case.

He will have to talk to Ukyo but that couldbe done later, after he was no longer a Saotome.

The Kunos, Ryoga, Mu Tsu and everyone else could be dealt with brute force if necessary but that will only happen when they finally showed up so it wasn't a priority at the moment.

Ranma needed to carefully plan everything out. After he resigned his name he would need a place to stay as well as new identity with all the proper paperwork. Once that was done he would contact his Executive Director at New Age Tech. and start building a branch of the company in this dimention.

Ranma glanced at the sun and tried to judge the time, he decided that he had more than enough time to see the Amazons before he needed to meet Nabiki. Ranma jumped down from the tree and headed for the Nekohanten.

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	8. Chapter 8

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech unless specified differently.

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 8

# Nekohanten #

There weren't a lot of customers at this particular hour, though by the lunch time rush the place would be packed. As usual Ku Lon was cooking while Xian Pu was serving the tables, Mu Tsu was at the back sweeping the floor. When a small bell on the door jingled announcing new customers Xian Pu hurried over to great them and assist them in finding a table.

"Welcome to Nekohanten plea….Airen!" Xian gloomped Ranma. "Airen take Shampoo on a date, yes?"

"No. Get off me." replied Ranma in perfect Mandarin. Xian was so shocked that she actually let him go and took a step back. She had not more than opened her mouth to speak again when her Arien completely ignored her in favor of greeting the Amazon elder.

"Ku Lon." Ranma said calmly greeting her with a nod and a rather smug grin as he addressed the Joketsuzoku (is that how they're called?) elder in her own tongue.

/ _the whole conversation with Ku Lon is in Mandarin / _/

"Son-in-law. You came sooner than I expected." greeted Ku Lon while carefully studying Ranma's new appearance. Xian Pu told her of the changes she had seen in her husband to be yesterday but the elder was still surprised to see them for herself. Instead of the boy that she knew (and grudgingly respected) there stood a man, a warrior and if her senses didn't deceive her, not even a human.

"We needed to talk sooner or later and I just happened to have a spare minute." Traces of Ranma's usual confidence lingered in his tones as he spoke ever so respectfully to the older woman.

Ku Lon nodded her consent and motioned Ranma to follow her to an isolated table, barking orders at her granddaughter and telling Xian Pu to bring them tea and take over the kitchen.

Ranma sank gracefully into the offered chair across from Ku Lon and kept quiet while Xian was serving them tea.

When she left Ku Lon was first to break the silence

"How did this happen?"

"Happosai." Ranma said as if it explained everything. The elder sighed

"What did that moron do this time?"

"Apparently Happi got tired of me interfering with his 'fun' so he managed to open a Portal. I got sucked in, and then to be sure that I wouldn't come back the bastard severed my soulbond with this dimension." Despite the rather morbid topic Ranma sounded as if he was talking about the weather instead of an attempt to end his existence permanently.

Ku Lon sat absolutely still, stunned by the simple revelation, this time the old letch had gone too far even by his rather loose standards. After a moment though she asked another question

"Am I to assume you took care of him?" Ku Lon questioned softly. When Ranma simply nodded she continued. "What did you do to him?"

"He's alive if that's what you mean but I can assure you he's wishing for death right now."

"How so?"

"I opened my own Portal for him. I have a couple of friends on the Ninth Level of Hell and they'll be more than happy to look after Happi for the rest of his pathetic and torture filled life."

Ku Lon chose not to comment on the screams she heard last night, suddenly aware that neither her conscience nor her stomach wanted to know the details. Instead she opted to return to the original topic

"How _did_ you manage to come back then? I only know of one way…You didn't!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'd forsaken that idea as soon as I found out how many of dimensions there are. I wasn't about to waste my life that way. No, it was a pure accident that I made it back here." (1)

"The Demon?" understanding dawned upon the elder.

"Mhmm. I was chasing him and we ended up here. And before you ask, yes I'm a Hunter though it's more of a hobby." was his nonchalant reply.

"Interesting…"

"Not really, we have more important matters to discuss."

"Indeed. So are you or are you not?" (2) Ku Lon asked with curiosity.

"I am, and that's not what I'm talking about." said Ranma with a hint of impatience coloring his voice.

"Oh? There's something more important than a fact that you were human a week ago and now you're as far from being one as it gets, and a Traveler no less." sarcasm was practically dripping from her words as the elder stared across the table at her ponytailed son-in-law. Ranma shrugged

"The Change was necessary at that time, besides the Neko-ken was already there I needed only a little push to become a true Shad'R. (3) Now that I've satisfied your curiosity, call off the Kisses of Death and Marriage." Ranma said in the same bored voice

"What? Why pray tell should I do that _son-in-law_." Ku Lon was not pleased with the direction their conversation had taken on.

"Because the only reason you want me is to sire children for your village and we both know that after the Change I'm unable to do so." his tone was that of a tired parent.

"But you can still teach our warriors as well as fight alongside them." the Amazon elder replied stubbornly, refusing to let the male she spent last two years in pursuit of slip out of her grasp.

"Ku Lon" Ranma's voice was cold and held a razor's edge to it "I will not come with you willingly and you will not be able to force me. Do NOT make the mistake of becoming my enemy."

"Or what? What can you possibly do?" Ku Lon challenged the man sitting across from her.

"I always get what I want and if I have to destroy a village or two in the process I will not think twice about doing it." Ranma's voice was colder than glacial ice as he replied.

"You wouldn't dare." snarled the Amazon _/ How dare this fool threaten me/_

"Now would I? You forget _Elder _I'm not an innocent boy anymore…quite the opposite. If you want me to prove it by making a blood bath out of your village you just need to say a word." His worlds a growl more than anything else

"You're a monster!"

"Perhaps, but you forget that I tried to be civil, it was you who refused to hear a voice of reason behind my request." Ranma was once again calm and as Ku Lon realized more dangerous than ever before. The promise inherent in matter of fact words was plain, his words were a statement… they were a promise and not a threat.

Furious dark brown eyes stared at the ice cold blue-grey ones, the silent battle of wills continued for nearly ten minutes before Ku Lon finally looked away unable to withstand Ranma's gaze any longer.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked in a voice still laced with fury. She may have lost but she'd be damned before she showed her despair to a man.

Ranma could easily see through her facade but wisely decided not to press the matter any further, he had achieved his goals, gotten what he wanted and that's all that mattered.

"Cancel the Kisses and go back to China." Ranma had to fight to keep a smile of his face.

"Done." agreed the Amazon albeit slowly and very grudgingly.

"Thank you. Goodbye Elder it's been a pleasure knowing you, please give my regards to Xian Pu and Mu Tsu. Oh, and one more thing I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody about our talk, they have absolutely no need to know about any of this." With that said Ranma walked out of the Nekohanten finally allowing himself a grin that scared the wits out of everyone who saw it. _/That went a lot better than I expected! Now to see Biki…/_

Ku Lon put her head in her hands and thought about what she'd just done. A short week ago she would've never believed Ranma's threats. His intrinsic good nature had always made his threats less than believable. Even now she could barely believe them and wouldn't have if not for the look in his eyes, the once laughing grey-blue orbs were now cold and ruthless, windows into the soul of the person he had become. Even when he talked about slaughtering her entire village there was no hesitation whatsoever, no pity, no inkling that he was anything less than prepared to carry out his threats if he deemed it necessary. That's what scared her the most. The Ranma she knew would have never willingly taken a life of another, this Ranma seemed not to care whether he had to kill one or one hundred, he was a perfect warrior and she respected him for it, but she also feared him for the same reason.

The Amazon elder sighed and got up from the table. It was time she broke the news to her grand granddaughter (and she knew that Xian Pu was NOT going to take it well) and the duck boy. The sooner they left the better, there was nothing left for them in this country. She just hoped Xian Pu won't do anything foolish to anger Ranma, her great-granddaughter was as stubborn as her former Arien and she never new when to stop.

# Furinkan High #

Nabiki was waiting impatiently for the final bell to ring, though the emotion didn't show through her accustomed mask.

She'd spent the majority of the day thinking of Ranma and the obvious changes not only in his appearance but in his personality as well. For once she didn't know how to react to him. Ranma in control of himself, his mouth and his surroundings was something she was not used to. Given the lack of a better plan Nabiki decided to act as usual and try to earn as much money as possible in the process. Ranma had already given her three gold coins, a windfall that if handled properly and through the right connections could start her on the road to wealth of her own. He also said that he will pay for her assistance later this day. If he had paid her that much for what little information she had given him on the roof Nabiki could only imagine how much he'll pay for 'assistance'.

Never the one to miss an opportunity, she had earned some money earlier in the day by selling Kuno the news of Ranma's return, his cure as well as cutting a few other deals. However they were but a drop in the bucket compared to what she planned to get from Ranma.

Not for the first time the middle Tendo wondered on the origins of those coins. She had done some research but couldn't find anything even remotely similar on the internet or in any of the schools library books on coins and antiquities. Obviously wherever he had been Ranma had stumbled upon a lost treasure or something like that. The coins had the strangest design, on one side there was a fire breathing Chinese dragon and on the other a tiger was walking forward as if intending to come out of the otherwise smooth surface.(4) The images were extremely detailed and skillfully done, obviously made by a master.

Thoughts of the coins inevitably led her back to the man that had given her them in the first place. Nabiki was angry at herself for losing control when near him, one touch from Ranma and she had been reduced to a quivering mass of hormones. She had found herself more than a little aroused by his commanding presence, he was much like the tiger on the coin, a deadly beauty. Even so when not being confronted his attitude was strangely gentle at least towards her. Ranma's cold business tones sent shivers down her spine while his soft gentle words of comfort and reassurance caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach. This wasn't a cute boy that she knew a week ago this was a drop dead gorgeous man who didn't allow anyone to walk over him, a perfect man in her eyes.

Nabiki was jolted from her musings by the bell. She motioned for her underlings to follow her to the courtyard so they could conduct their business. She always went there so that those who needed to buy some information or return their debts could easily find her.

Waiting for her there in a shade of a tree and leaning casually on the boundary wall stood Ranma. Today he wore a black robe with blue tigers artfully embroidered on its front and back. It was similar to the one he wore yesterday and clung to his frame just as tightly, giving a first rate view to all that wanted it. His hair was once again pulled back in a ponytail with two loose strands framing his face. Nabiki took a deep breath and steeled herself before approaching her quarry. It would do her reputation no good to faint like that girl to her left. She adopted a neutral expression as she drew nearer, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart at the same time.

"What's with the good mood?" Nabiki couldn't help but notice his grin and the rather insane sparkle in those impossible eyes.

"Isn't seeing you not a good enough reason?" he asked his own question and flashed her a charming smile. She lifted an eyebrow and Ranma shrugged his sholders. "It's nothing that can't be discussed later are you ready to go?"

"I need to take care of some matters first if that's not a problem." Nabiki responded defiantly.

"Sure just make it quick, I have a lot planned for today."

"Whatever you say Saotome." Her sarcasm was answered with another dazzling smile.

x x x

Ranma's observation of the students was interrupted by the bokken wielding moron known as Kuno.

"So the demon finally decides to show his cowardly face! I see you finally dropped your disguise and are now showing your true colors! How could you kill my darling pigtailed goddess you vile creature…"

At that point Ranma stopped listening and looked at Nabiki she was the only one who could've told Kuno that he got rid of his curse. The girl visibly swallowed and refused to make an eye contact. Ranma entertained en idea of actually becoming angry with her but then smirked as he thought of something else, he needed to deal with Kuno anyway and this was as good a time as any.

The vicious smile that appeared on his face left Nabiki slightly shaken.

Ranma walked over to the wannabe samurai and simply grabbed him by the collar ignoring both the shocked looks the crowd gave him and the struggling Kuno he silently walked into the school building shutting the doors with a loud /bam/ as if daring anyone to follow. As it was nobody was stupid enough to ignore his implied warning that he desired some privacy and what's more important they weren't suicidal to challenge him on the matter.

In a matter of moments Ranma found an empty classroom and slammed the struggling kendoist into the wall. Not giving his prey a chance to recuperate Ranma lifted him by the neck.

"Now you pathetic fucker you will shut up and listen. I'm a very powerful demon--"

"Aha, so you finally admit it!"

"Oh yes, but I'd suggest you to shut up before I loose my patience."

"How dare you treat a noble samurai like this? You--" Kuno's speech was interrupted by Ranma's fist.

"I hope a broken jaw will make you less talkative. Now listen good you piece of shit because I dislike repeating myself." Ranma shook him a bit to get his point across. "You can have your precious Akane. I've lost my interest in her."

"How da--" Kuno's angry response was cut short by a viscous punch to ris ribs. Both the delusional samarui and the demon clearly heard Kuno's ribs crack and the sudden whoosh of the upperclassman loosing his breath.

"When I tell you to shut the fuck up I mean don't fucking open your shit filled mouth scum. Understood?"

All Kuno could do was manage a weak nod of agreement through the pain and terror he was feeling.

"Good." Without wasting any time Ranma went in for the 'kill'. The former martial artist turned Hunter transformed and snarled at Kuno showing off his deadly fangs and digging his equally lethal claws into kendoists neck. "I don't care what you do Kuno but if I ever see your disgusting face again you're going to suffer like no other human ever has." Ranma used his limited ability in the Psionic(Mind) Arts to fill the empty space in his prey's mind with visions of the inhuman tortures that awaited him should he continue to challenge Ranma.

Kuno was undoubtedly a delusional idiot but even he understood what was said. The visions flashed behind his eyes, lasting no longer than fraction of a second each, nevertheless he saw every gruesome detail and heard every desperate shriek of pain and fear that he made while being tortured. Kuno knew that those visions would stay with him forever, terror filled nightmares finding him every time he closed his eyes.

A wide eyed and shaking Kuno looked at the feral cat like eyes of the man no _creature_ standing in front of him and effortlessly holding him up by the neck.

"A-a- anything, I-i-i'll do anything"

"Never cross me again and _never_ mention this talk to anyone. Oh and you will do good to keep that insane sister of yours away from me, I'm getting tired of her obsession."

"Y-yes of course. You'll n-never see m-me or K-kodachi ever again."

"And..?"

"A-a-and this t-talk n-never happened."

"Good boy."

The last things that Kuno saw were fangs that flashed in a toothy smile and the slitted eyes of a demon.

After knocking the kendoist out Ranma paused. Kuno lived in a fantasy world of his own making. If he left matters as they were the idiot would either totally block the encounter from his mind or somehow twist the memories into something more to his own liking. After a minute of thought Ranma decided to leave a reminder for him, a tangible warning that the boy couldn't easily disregard.

He took Kuno's right arm and starting under the wrist with his ki Ranma burned into the flesh one of his symbols, a stallion striking out with its front legs and under it he left a short message 'Never Speak Of The Devil'.

Satisfied with his handiwork he left to find Nabiki, there were a lot of things that still needed to be done.

x x x

As Ranma appeared behind Nabiki unnoticed by anyone, he decided on a small and essentially harmless revenge, to make her scream and hopefully jump in surprise. Leaning to whisper in her ear in a low voice Ranma said

"Are you done yet?"

"Arghhhhhhh!" Nabiki's screams shocked those who knew her. Who knew Nabiki could be so loud? And quite agile too, not many could twirl around in mid jump like that. "Bloody hell, Ranma! How did you…? Oh, never mind that, what happened?"

"Nothing to worry about. You" Ranma pointed to a girl standing to Nabiki's right "Take care of Kuno he's in the room 4a." he returned his attention back to the Tendo sister "I hope you've done what you wanted because we're leaving." Ranma was all business and no fun. He took Nabiki by the elbow and led the shocked girl off the school grounds.

Nearly halfway to the dojo Nabiki finally came out of her shock inducted stupor. She stopped and turned to Ranma

"Ok, what the hell was that about?"

"What exactly are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! What did you do to Kuno and why the hell did you decide to scare me half to death! "

"I wouldn't talk if I were you Nabiki. You should thank your lucky stars that I'm in a good mood otherwise you would have found out why _nobody_ double crosses me." Ranma's words had an edge to them "I'm not happy about being sold…not after I've already paid you more than generously. Now control your temper missy and stop screeching like a banshee." Nabiki gaped at his words, making a pretty good imitation of a fish. "If you're finished with your pointless questions lets get down to business." Ranma looked at the girl beside him to see her give a curt nod of agreement.

"What happened today?"

"Not much. Everybody's talking about you and the fight, five students transferred not wanting to see another one or be killed in the process for that matter."

"Speaking of which, what happened with the dead."

"Miss Hinako called the police they came while we were in class and took away the bodies. They asked some questions and after hearing our answers decided that an attack of a wild animal was as good explanation as any or at least better than being killed by something straight out of a video game. The local department stopped bothering to investigate cases that involved martial artists not long after you arrived. A wise decision in my opinion." Nabiki shrugged and looked at Ranma "You said you had something planned for today; what is it?"

"Not now, we will talk when I'm sure that nobody will overhear. Right now I want you to do what I say."

"Sure what do you want me to do?"

"You will enter the house alone and tell everybody that I will not be coming home for dinner, tell them you have some work to do and don't want to be disturbed. After that go up to your room and open the window I'll join you in a couple of minutes. Make sure you lock the door, I don't want anybody interfering."

"Ok I'll do it but why go to all this trouble?"

"Can you imagine what will happen the second that I come into the room? My ears have been abused more than enough for one day I don't want to neither hear a pointless lecture on how to treat my fiancée nor deal with your sister. So to answer your question, I'm just trying to save myself a killer headache."

"Oh." was Nabiki's intelligent reply.

They stopped in front of the gate and Nabiki made a move to open the door but then stopped with indecision

"What if they ask me where you are?"

"Hmm, tell them I'm running errands for you or something like that, improvise. Anything else?"

"I don't think so."

"Then go."

Ranma watched as Nabiki entered the compound, he waited until she was inside the house before jumping onto the roof. Ranma listened as Nabiki moved into the living room and after a short exchange with Kasumi and Nodoka headed upstairs to her room locking the door behind her. Meanwhile Kasumi went into the kitchen to start on dinner and Ranma took that opportunity to talk with the elder Tendo. He silently slipped into the back door that led to the kitchen and taking great care not to startle the girl he moved to stand behind her.

Sensing a presence behind her Kasumi turned around and nearly jumped at seeing Ranma standing there.

"Ranma-kun! Oh my, what are you doing here Nabiki said you would be back after dinner."

"I know. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Of course, what can I do for you?" she was surprised with such request but opted to give it a try.

"I don't want anybody to know that I'm here. You see Nabiki and I have something to do and after this morning I doubt that we can work without interruptions. Can you bring our dinner to Nabiki's room, I'd really appreciate it." Ranma gave Kasumi a charming smile that made her knees weak.

"Oh my, if it's really necessary…" she could understand Ranma's reasoning but she didn't like the prospect of lying to her family either.

"It is."

"Ok, I'll do it." still uncertain she agreed

Then happened something that Kasumi was totally unprepared for, Ranma hugged her and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before whispering in a low voice

"Remind me to thank you properly later."

All Kasumi could do was stand there as Ranma exited as silently as he appeared. She brought her had to her lips and her knees buckled, she sunk to the floor with a furious blush covering her features. Ranma had kissed her something she dreamed of for the last year or so actually happened! But still, he was her sister's fiancée it wasn't proper and he had all those girls chasing after him…Then the implications of what he said finally caught up with the elder Tendo. Kasumi's face was now redder than a tomato and her eyes resembled a pair of dinner plates. _/He couldn't have actually meant **that**, could he? No, it must be my imagination. Oh Gods, Kasumi get a grip he would have never said something like that/_ The self proclaimed housewife of the Tendo household managed to compose herself and finally started on dinner. A slight pink tint to her cheeks the only reminder of Ranma's earlier visit.

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(1) –_"How did you manage to come back then? I only know of one way…You didn't?"_  
"_Don't be ridiculous I'd forsaken that idea as soon as I found out how many of dimensions there are. I wasn't about to waste my life that way. No, it was a pure accident that I made it back here."_

In chapter 3 it was pointed out that for Ranma to get 'home' he needed to search through all dimensions manually, meaning stupidly traveling from one dimension to another until he found the right one.

(2) – _"Indeed. So are you _(not a human?)_ or are you not?"_  
"_I am, and that's not what I'm talking about."_

Basically Ku Long asks if Ranma is non-human as her senses told her last night or if she was mistaken and he answers that indeed, he's not a human.

(3) – The Change as Ranma called it is literally changing your species. When Ranma mastered the Neko-ken his body was forced to adapt and as a result took on some feline traits to complete the change and become even more powerful he needed to drink a bit of Shad'R blood.

Shad'R is a nearly extinct race of so called 'neko (cat) warriors'. They are very similar to werewolves only they turn into different felines and are able to do so at will. They have three forms: a human form (they look completely human), their true form (a humanoid one, something similar to what Ranma transformed into) and an animal form (they take on a form of a giant feline, whichever they posses the traits of)

Because Ranma already started to transform into something similar thanks to the Neko-ken, drinking a little of their blood allowed him to become a true Shad'R, a tiger to be exact.

The story of why it was necessary and all other details will be revealed later in the story.

Becoming sterile was simply a side effect of the Change. I guess that ceasing being human and turning into something else can do that to you.

(4) – In Hell those rich and powerful enough often print their own money the only condition is that coins must weight a certain amount. Silver and gold coins are the main currency in Hell and of course they can be used as money in all Known Worlds.

'_The coins had the strangest design, on one side there was a fire breathing Chinese dragon and on the other one a tiger walking forward as if intending to come out of the otherwise smooth surface.'_

This is Ranma's personal money. The tiger signifies his nature as a Shad'R and the fire breathing Chinese dragon is his official insignia though he also has another more personal emblem, a stallion striking out with its front legs.

(In chapter 3 it was said that The Dragon is how Ranma is known in Hell.)

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Author's Note: I'm currently trying to figure out what to do after Ranma settles in and becomes comfortable. I have some ideas but I would really appreciate it if you send me your suggestions. If you have an idea and want it to be used in this fanfic please email me at lostangel13 at hotmail dot com or leave a review. I can't promise that I will use it but if it doesn't disturb the plot I that have in mind I will try to, and of course I'll give full credits to you for the idea.

Again, many thanks to all my reviewer's, you guys are the best! And let us all bow to Ranger 5 who pre-reads this story and corrects my mistakes. Believe me if it wasn't for this saint you would've had a very hard time reading my blabbering.

Someone commented on my poor grammar, well what can I say… English is my second language. I think that explains it.

Ja ne,

Kalissa


	9. Chapter 9

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"Blah, blah, blah" – indicates Japanese speech unless specified differently.

# Nerima, Tokyo, Earth # - indicates locations

/_Hmmm_…/ - indicates thoughts

**Author's Note:** This is an **edited** **version **of the NC-17 chapter that you can fing on the Media Miner. org. So if you'd like a bit more detail in that one particular scene, please visit the said site.

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**Bound to Stay** by Kalissa

Chapter 9

# Tendo Dojo, Nabiki's room #

Ranma effortlessly climbed into Nabiki's window, Nabiki sat on the bed waiting for him, her arms akimbo as she sat there and clearly rather cross at the delay in his arrival.

"Took you long enough." Obviously, Nabiki didn't like to be left waiting.

"I made arrangements concerning our dinner." Ranma was thoughtfully amused and it showed in his voice.

"Oh?"

"Kasumi will bring it here in an hour or so."

"Wonderful. But maybe now you could tell me why we are here?" Nabiki's sarcasm was evident in her tones, but it was overpowered by her curiosity.

"Certainly. As I already told you I need your assistance."

"Could you be more, oh I don't know, _specific_?"

"Give me a moment." Ranma shut the window and crossed the room checking to see if the door was properly locked. After confirming that it was, he put his hands on the wall and murmured a short incantation, his hands glowed a soft blue, the glow spread from his hands to encompass the entire room. After a minute the walls, floor and the ceiling were all glowing with a ghostly blue light, the glow intensified for a second then disappeared all together.

"What was that?" Nabiki asked in a shaky voice.

"A Silencing Spell. In other words I created a soundproof barrier around your room."

"You should've warned me! Do you have any idea how creepy it looked!"

"Yes, and if you plan to work with me you will get used to it as well as many other things. You are going to work with me, aren't you?"

"Depends. What's in it for me?"

"It'll make you filthy rich." said Ranma while making himself comfortable in a chair across from the bed.

"And how exactly will this happen?" the distrust she obviously felt was clear in her voice …as was a certain amount of wistful hope.

Ranma paused for a moment considering his next answer carefully, something that Nabiki noted with more than a little surprise.

"I'm a very wealthy person Nabiki and what's more important for you I'm a very generous employer. In return I ask only your unconditional loyalty. Carefully consider this offer dear, I do not forgive betrayal of any sort." For some reason Nabiki remembered what Ranma said on their way from school somehow she knew that if something like that happened again she would surely regret it, _big time_. Nabiki bit her lip as she considered the offer.

"Then I'll just have to make sure that nothing like that ever happens." It was more of a question than a statement.

"Indeed, I'm glad we understand each other. There's one more thing that needs to be decided though. Every employee to ever work for me receives a mark. It signifies their connection to me, their rank and has an added bonus of making sure that they don't act adverse to my interests."explained Ranma in a lecturing tone not unlike that of a university professor.

"How does it do that?"

"By administering a severe pain shock if you do. Try to double cross me and you will be left convulsing on the floor." Nabiki visibly swallowed as she considered the implications.

"And what is there to decide?"

"As I said it marks your rank and your rank is what determines the number of zeros on your paycheck. So what will it be? A manager perhaps or maybe a personal assistant, hmm?"

"Who has the highest?" Nabiki's voice was eager

"Ha-ha-ha, I'm glad you asked. I presume you want that position?" amusement once again colored Ranma's words.

"Of course." she didn't hesitate even for a moment to answer.

"Are you sure about this?" Ranma smiled, for once the "Ice Queen" was acting on impulse and without first getting all the information. His smile widened as he saw the stubborn determination on her face. As impulsively as she was acting she would soon make a fine addition to his concerns.

"Yes." She finalized her decision but then curiously asked "Is there any reason why shouldn't I be?"

"I can think of at least one."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"You just agreed to become my concubine." Ranma was grinning like a Cheshire cat by now.

"E-excuse me?" Nabiki couldn't believe her ears

"Yes dear?"

"You didn't just say that. You're joking, right?" at least she hoped he was

Ranma's grin grew even more pronounced

"What makes you think that? I'm dead serious. Those of my concubines that have access to my businesses are regarded as second only to me. Neither one of them is an idiot as a matter of fact they're smatter than most."

"They? As in more than one?" Nabiki looked like she was ready to cry

"A lot more than one dear. Much has changed Biki but my luck with women always stays the same that's the main reason I never married and don't plan to for that matter." Ranma got up and headed towards the girl.

"W-what are you doing?" Nabiki's eyes widened as she started to get really nervous now

"Well, seeing as you've already made your choice, I should mark you. We have more than enough time for all the formalities before your sister brings our dinner." Ranma gently but firmly pushed Nabiki to lie on her back.

"B-but--" Nabiki whimpered softly as he began to lick at her neck

"But what? I asked if you wanted the position and you said yes." He paused to nibble at her earlobe

"That was before I knew what it was!" Nabiki desperately tried to ignore Ranma's ministrations and the effect they had on her body.

"What does it matter? You've made your choice now all you can do is live with it."

Whatever else Nabiki was going to say was silenced when Ranma's lips covered hers.

Nabiki gasped when Ranma sensually dragged his tongue across her lips and he took this opportunity to deepen the kiss, delving his tongue inside he explored the cavern of her mouth. After a few moments she began to respond and their kiss grew more passionate and demanding when Ranma finally broke for air they were both panting heavily. Ranma took the girl by her waist and (with a surprisingly gentle motion) repositioned her to fully lie on the bed. Straddling her hips he kissed her again before he started unbuttoning her uniform.

Nabiki was overwhelmed, who knew Ranma could kiss like _that_? The feel of his body on top of hers sentwaves of pleasure and excitement coursing through her, a softpleasurable moan escaped her lips and was swallowed by Ranma's mouth.

She was so intent on all the new sensations in her body that she never noticed her blouse being slipped off her frame and dropped to the floor nor the bra that followed soon after. Nabiki was brought back to reality when she felt a his soft lips on her skin, moving down her neck to the regions below, she moaned loudly and fisted her hands in the sheets, the pleasure only intensified when Ranma's skilled fingers joined his lips.

"O-oh Kami!" 

Ranma only grinned in response enjoying the feel of her body twisting beneath him. The girl arched into his touch as he explored every inch of her body with his clever mouth following the paths his hands traced earlier.

On some level Nabiki knew that this was wrong and that she should stop it before it got too far but she didn't really give damn right now, she felt way too good to stop.

Ranma got rid of Nabiki's skirt and underwear in one fluid motion, he lightly traced his fingers over her sides, down to her hips and thighs before gently spreading her legs so he could settle down between them, for the moment ignoring the way her body stiffened at the action. Nabiki's eyes clenched shut at the alien, but extremely pleasurable feelings she was experiencing and small whimpers and mewls of pleasure escaped her mouth.

x x x

He moved to sit back on his knees and looking down on the girl lying before him. Her eyes were shut and her breath came in short, laboured pants through her slightly parted lips, her skin had a slight pink tint to it as her perfect frame laid bonelessly on the bed while she tried to recover from her earth shattering experience. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed patiently waiting for the girl to recover. When Nabiki finally opened her eyes he leaned in to give her a deep kiss and stood up, slowly unbuttoninghis robe letting the silk slide down his frame and drop in a dark pool at his feet looking Nabiki straight in the eyes he said in a low and husky voice

"You asked me to warn you before I do anything '_creepy'_ didn't you?" Nabiki noted that that annoying amused smirk made him look incredibly sexy.

"Y-yes" she was momentarily confused, did he really think that she'll get freaked out by watching him strip?

"In that case you've received yourwarning."

Before she could ask any questions Ranma's form shimmered as he transformed into, what was now, his true form. He held her eyes with his own stormy orbs as he pulled at the string that held his pants on his waist letting them join the robe at his feet as he stretched his lithe body in a cat like manner and glided towards the bed.

All Nabiki could do was stare as his silk like skin rolled over the steel hard muscles, she was transfixed with his inhuman beauty: pale skin, silky waterfall of his hair, muscular chest, arms and stomach, strong legs and his erect member completed the impressive picture. When Ranma came closer she extended her arms wrapping them around his neck and pulling him to lie on top of her eager body.

x x x

When Nabiki was lost in the sensations their love making brought, Ranma snaked his right hand around to cup her left buttock, channelling his energies he willed a mark to appear on the soft flesh and then infused it with his ki, completing the bond with his new concubine.

The unexpected pleasure that a marking always brought sent Nabiki over the edge as her cried of pleasure attested to her enjoyment, Ranma followed her soon after.

Panting heavily, Ranma moved to lie beside Nabiki so he wouldn't crush her under his weight. He wanted to continue with the love-play, but Kasumi would bring them dinner in ten minutes or so and he hated being interrupted when he was enjoying "quality time". Besides someone needed to let Kasumi in, not only that but there still was a lot that needed to be done and they couldn't afford to waste anymore time fooling around. When his breathing evened out he got up from the bed and dressed all the while thinking on what he wanted done and how to achieve it. Finally after combing through his hair with his hand Ranma turned to Nabiki who was silently watching him through half lidded eyes and with an unreadable expression on her face

"Get dressed. There's much to do and we can't waste anymore time fooling around. Kasumi will be here in a couple of minutes with our dinner so I suggest you hurry up." he was talking in a business like manner all passion and desire that he'd shown in bed gone till further notice.

Nabiki gave him one last lingering look before doing as she was told. The reality of what happened crashed downon her like a pile of bricks the moment her new lover left the bed: she had _sold__ herself_ to the man soul, mind and body, she'd been marked as if she was a property and to top it off, she was now a concubine. What scared her the most was that she actually _liked_ the idea of being owned by Ranma in fact it exited her to think of him as her master, she was ready to do anything he asked of her no matter the consequences, she didn't know the reason for this devotion and could only guess that it had something to do with the mark. Curiosity getting the better of her Nabiki looked in the mirror at her backside wanting to see the mark. There on her left buttock she could see a pitch black stallion with ruby red eyes rearing its front legs up as if in a strike. _/ Figures, what other mark could a Wild Horse possibly have/_ She donned her trademark shorts and top choosing to forego the underwear, the clothes clung to her body like a second skin giving Ranma a great view of her ample bosom and finely toned body.

Ranma watched amused at her antics, simply sitting back and enjoying the show that she had put on for him as she dressed, his fun was interrupted when he heard a tentative knock on the door.

"Nabiki, it's Kasumi, I brought you your dinner."

Nabiki looked at Ranma silently asking what to do, even as she noted the silence barrier worked one way, they could still hear outside noise but no-one else could hear them.

"Let her in." he went to sit in the chair he occupied earlier

"What about the barrier?" she asked while crossing the room

"It'll disseminate once you open the door."

She nodded in understanding and opened the door, there stood Kasumi with a tray full of food.

"Hello sis, let me help you." Nabiki took the tray and placed it on her bed being careful not to spill anything.

Kasumi wondered at her sister's choice of attire (and the obvious lack of undergarments) but pretended not to notice her rather scandalous mode of dress, but when Nabiki moved out of the doorway she couldn't prevent her eyes from widening. Nabiki's bed was unmade…and obviously recently used, her sister's school uniform and underwear were strewn carelessly on the floor. In the midst of this chaos she saw Ranma calmly sitting in the chair by the desk, his black hair loose from the ponytail and freely cascading down his back and shoulders as twin silver locks framed his face. _/ Wait a minute… **silver** locks?  
_

Nabiki turned to thank Kasumi only to see her older sister openly gaping at something. Following her sister's gaze she saw Ranma, an amused smirk on those delicious lips of his and a bright spark in his beautiful slitted eyes. _/ Oh_ _shit! He didn't change back/_

"Nabiki close the door." Ranma commanded. She complied without a second thought which only added to Kasumi's shock. "Kasumi, dear, is something the matter?" he lifted a questioning eyebrow.

"Y-y-you're n-not human…" she whispered softly, unsure as to what her reaction ought to be.

"Oh? And how did you come to such a brilliant conclusion?" his sarcastic tones were lased with amusement

Kasumi finally collected herself and replied in a more steady voice

"Your aura, it's…different."

"You can read auras, dear?"

"Ahh, only a little." she replied in a small voice

"A little, huh? Did you know that not every master could even notice the difference in my aura and of those, only a handful was able to realise what it means. Don't belittle your talents Kasumi." Ranma paused for a moment and than said in a gentle coaxing tone "Listen here, you need to return to the dinner table before they start to get suspicious but I promise that I'll answer all your questions in a couple of days, the only condition is that you tell no**-**one about this. Deal?"

Kasumi thought about it for a while, she really wanted to hear Ranma's explanation _/ And see the incredibly sexy man again /_ something inside of her whispered, she ignored it. She didn't want to lie to her family, on the other hand, she wasn't exactly_ lying_, it was more like she was keeping a personal secret…

"Alright I'll keep your secret but you better have a good explanation for this, Mister."

"But of course." Ranma gave her one of his dazzling smiles making the girl blush as she remembered their earlier encounter in the kitchen, when he too was 'explaining'.

"Good night." she hurried out of the door trying to hide her hopelessly blushing face.

"Good night, sis." Nabiki only smirked seeing the effect her lover had on her sister

"Sweet dreams, dear." his smile widened at seeing Kasumi's face get even redder. Oh how he loved to tease virgins!

The door closed and Ranma turned to look at his concubine

"Lock the door then put your hand on the wall and say '_Saileto'._" he went to sit on the bed and started on his dinner all the while watching his new lover.

She was a bit hesitant but obeyed his order nonetheless. He was immensely pleased by this, so many others had failed his little test by turning into a nervous wreck but Nabiki proved with each passing minute that he had made the right choice. When the blue barrier came to life again it proved that the girl was capable of working with magic, a most pleasant surprise. She didn't jump like the first time but merely observed as the room glowed blue and then turned to normal again. Ranma gestured for her to join him

"Eat before it gets cold." when she was seated opposite from him he said "Let this be your first lesson in magic Biki." seeing that he heldher attention he continued "This type of barriers and spells in general are called 'Lingering' they draw on your energy when they are created but after that they can be reawakened by any other magic user who knows the right trigger. The trigger in its turn can be anything: a word, a gesture or a key of some sort or a combination of the above, literally _anything_. Any questions so far?"

"Yes, you said a magic user but I've never cast a spell before today."

"You don't have to actively practice magic to be able to use it. It is something you are born with, you either have it or not. It doesn't mean that you can cast a spell it simply means that you have the potential to use it. Right now you can awaken a spell after someone else had done the hard part for you, later you can learn how to do it yourself." she nodded in understanding

"How long does such spell last?"

"It depends on how much power is put into its creation and if it has a 'battery' or not. The Silencing Spell that I've put around this room will dissipate by tomorrow noon unless I give it some energy source to feed off from, till than it will deactivate when you open the door and become active when you put your hand on the wall and say _'Saileto'_." Ranma finished his last rice ball and waited for Nabiki to finish with her own dinner before moving the tray onto the floor. "Do you have any more questions before we start on business?"

"Mmm, I have two actually, you said it was my first lesson, does this mean you are going to teach me magic?"

"I'll teach you the basics and lay the groundwork as we go and then we'll see if you can handle something bigger."

"Ok, that's fine with me." she paused with indecision 

"Your second question?"

"Ahhhh, can I be there when you explain everything to Kasumi?" she said in one breath and in a small voice.

"Ha-ha-ha, got curious about who're you sleeping with?"

"S-something like that." Nabiki felt her face heat up with a blush "So, can I?"

"Of course, if that's what you want, so be it." she looked at him in surprise and Ranma sighed _/ Here're we go again, another one that expected me to lock her up in the bedroom and tell her when to breath and blink/ _ "Obviously I have to clarify something for you Biki. First of all, when I give you an order you obey it at once. At any other time if you aren't working on specified duties you can do whatever the hell it is you want: spend money, go on a killing spree, fuck anyone that strikes your fancy, blow something up, I don't particularly care as long as you don't betray me and are there when I call." He looked at the shell shocked girl "Are you still with me?" she nodded "Good. Next, you are my concubine that means that you are second only to me and high above anyone else, that also means that you are _mine_ and if anyone even breathes the way you don't like, they will have a chat with me, the pieces of those who hurt you will be found all over Japan, that is if there's anything left of them when I get done. And lastly, I have a tendency to spoil those who please me be it in bed or otherwise if you want something, _anything, _you will most probably get it on a silver platter so don't ever hesitate to ask. You are going to be trained in a variety of things, when I have time, I will teach you myself otherwise you will have the best teachers available. Is this your final year?"

"Yes, I'll graduate in two months."

"Wonderful, your further education will be through the internet and private tutors, it'll give you the chance to work and study at the same time, besides, it'll take less time to finish the courses this way."

"But I can't afford--"

"But _I_ can. You will get the best and you will do your best and more, that's final. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now to the main reason of this meeting. I want you to create a new identity for me."

"What do you mean?" 

"Exactly what I said. I need a new name and the history to go with it and I need them done _perfectly_, can you or anyone you know do it?"

Nabiki paused to think over the task

"Well, I can try. Creating a new personality is relatively easy, confirming it is the real bitch. If someone starts digging there must be people who 'remember' you and can confirm your story, a little money will take care of that but we'll need to find the right people." she was talking more to herself than Ranma and was trying to sort through her thoughts

"You've done this before haven't you?" Ranma was genially curious

"Not exactly but I know how to do the basics everything else can be done by the specialist without our involvement. We need to write a story and he will make it real, it's that simple."

"How long will it take and how trustworthy is this guy?"

"A couple of days if he's properly motivated and he will keep his mouth shut even if it kills him." it was a matter of fact statement

"Oh?"

"I have records of all his deals and his real identity, the police will be the least of his worries if someone from his past 'accidentally' finds him and his family and he knows it."

"How did you meet him?"

"His son attends Furinkan I got the moron out of trouble and things went from there. So did you think about who you want to be?"

By this time Nabiki moved to sit at her desk in the chair Ranma occupied earlier and turned on her computer.

"I have some ideas." replied Ranma while admiring her body from the bed. Nabiki pretended not to notice his openly hungry gaze as she opened the specific file she was looking for

"Ok then, we need to fill out this form in as much detail as possible. Name?"

"Ikari Ranma."

"Are you sure you want to keep your given name?" 

"Yes."

"Oookay, age?"

"23"

"Background?"

"Parents died and left me a sizable fortune, received my education in England majored in business management and marketing came to my homeland in hopes of starting a business. I don't care about the details just tell him to make it look impressive. I want all the appropriate paperwork: certificates, recommendations and all that. Oh and a driver's license would be great."

"Anything else you want me to add before I send it to him? And he will also need your photo for the documents."

For the third time that day Ranma got up from the bed and came over to stand behind his lover. He took out a photo from his sub-pocket and gave it to her

"Here. Tell him to spend as much money as needed, I want it done _Perfect_ to a T. He will receive double of his expenses if I like the results."

"Are you sure? That's a lot of money." she couldn't help asking, as they say, mercenary habits die hard

"I'm willing to pay and if he's finished in two days I'll add to that."

"Whatever you say but I still think its crazy." she still was convinced that money shouldn't be thrown around so casually

"Make it a rule dear, compared to what you are used to, you have nearly unlimited funding. Do as you please and don't think of the prices."

Nabiki didn't answer to that but instead chose to give her full attention to the email she was writing. She attached the aforementioned form and the scanned photo to the file and clicked the 'send' button, looking up at Ranma she said

"I'm done."

"Good I have a few more tasks for you."

"What else?"

"I want to buy a house, I'm not staying here longer than necessary, do you have any suggestions?" she thought it over

"Well we can look what properties are available through the internet."

"Do it."

"Give me a minute." she started typing and looking through the various sites "Here. See anything you like?" she brought up a window with photos and brief descriptions of different houses that are being sold in Nerima and started scrolling through them. Ranma was getting bored when he saw something that caught his interest.

"Go back a bit…this one." he pointed at the old western estate.

It was a two story Gothic Style Villa made out of white stone, the front was divided into five compartments. The porch and the oriel window above it were flanked by four large windows on each side. The central windows on the ground and chamber floors were crowned with tablets and next to them on the ground floor were two big oriel windows. The compartment on each side of the centre were finished with gable tops terminating with a pinnacle and also small octagonal turrets and angles supported with corbels and terminating in ornamental pinnacles.(1) Lush gardens covered the vast property surrounding the house making it look more like a palace than a simple villa. All in all, it reminded Ranma of a miniature copy of his manor back in Hell and was something that fit his requirements perfectly. Nabiki on the other hand was shocked at Ranma's choice

"It's not a _house_ Ranma, it's a freaking _mansion_!"

"Aaaand? I like it." In Ranma's opinion that was a good reasoning. He already made his choice and was going to get it no matter what. "I'll be moving in the day after tomorrow, arrange for it to be cleaned and repaired if necessary. In this and all the deals from now on you will use the name Ikari Ranma."

"Riiiiight." Nabiki was a bit unnerved by his attitude but wisely decided not to comment "You need a bank account to buy it."

Ranma took out a small bag from his sub-pocket and gave it to her

"Here, this should be enough, take care of everything you think I may need. Tomorrow I will decide on the furniture and all that so you better be prepared for a shopping spree."

Her eyes widened when she looked inside, the bag was full of gold coins, pearls, rubies, diamonds and other jewels, there was enough money to buy the whole Nerima if not Tokyo even with the loss in value she'd take when converting the gems to money. She was pulled from her thoughts by Ranma's voice

"Now one more thing I want you to destroy all of the computer records on Saotome Ranma you can find and I mean _all,_ I don't want anything left. I know that the hardcopies will still be there but if they can't be found they aren't much of a risk. I'll take care of the district records of the Saotome Clan myself. As far as I'm concerned he never existed in the first place, is that clear?"

"Crystal." Nabiki nodded her head

"Good girl. You can start now the sooner it's done the better, just don't forget all the data that you've gathered on me so far, all of it has to go too."

"Yes of course. Where're you going?" Nabiki started typing on her computer when she saw Ranma opening the door

"I'll be at the dojo" he turned to exit but then paused and without turning around said "Oh and Nabiki…"

"Yes?"

"Get some sleep if you can because you sure as hell won't be getting any when I come back." he closed the door softly chuckling and living the furiously blushing girl behind went to train.

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(1) –I will post the picture of the mansion on the Media Miner. org because I know that my description of it is crappy at its best. If you wish to give me some suggestions I will gladly make the corrections.

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Author's Note: My friend asked me **"Why did you make Ranma evil?"** well if you're interested in my answer read this:

I know he may seem to be a cold blooded killer and all that but that's not true. Well…not exactly, there's more to him than that. Personally, I think he just stoped being naïve and learned to live in the real world. Look at this from my point of view, Ranma was thrown into a world where any weaknesses would have resulted in his death, that is if he was lucky. Among the different dimensions there are numerous slave traders, whore houses and all that, in other worlds it's a grown up world. Now imagine what would have happened to an emotional and forgiving fool that Ranma has been in the long run. He was powerful where he came from but in Hell he wasn't anything special, not a weakling but very, _very_ far from the best. If he refused to kill and all the trouble came back to bite him in the ass just as it happened in Nerima, he wouldn't have lived for more than a couple of weeks. He had to adjust and play by the new rules, one of which said "Kill or Be Killed". His true personality that of gentle and loving man came to surface only when he was with his close friends, to everyone else he had to become cold and ruthless simply to survive through everything he had been through during his travels. He is so called 'lesser evil' compared to most, don't forget he still has his honour and treats everyone as fairly as he can, only his enemies get slaughtered and tortured. For me, Ranma is a Dark Hero type if you will, a badass, not completely evil but far from an angel either.(that's my favourite, I can tolerate 'the-goody-two-shoes' type but that's it, though there are some stories out there that are considered an exception).

I hope that helps


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